


Vengeance

by TheLastSonata



Series: The Dissonance Trilogy [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Lesbian Character, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-05-07 03:07:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 33
Words: 308,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5441195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLastSonata/pseuds/TheLastSonata
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once you stood upon the pinnacle of the Pantheon as a god. Whole civilizations rose and fell with your merest gesture. But you've chosen to be nothing more than a man, too weak and feeble to save even a single city. Now all you can do is glare at me with ancient eyes. Did you truly believe you could leave it all behind, the consequences of your failures? The sequel to Innocence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“No, no, no, please… I love you Weiss… please don’t leave me alone. Not again… Please...”

Ruby felt tears roll over cheeks as she pressed down hard on Weiss’ stomach. If she just kept telling Weiss she loved her, telling her how much she was needed, she wouldn’t leave. Her partner would find the strength to stay; she would open her eyes, smile at her, and say she loved her as well.

Only in loss, when what is seemingly eternal is ripped away, is one forced to confront their feelings. Always before, Ruby had at least the hope that no matter what, she and Weiss would reconcile. They had been thrust together by the divine will of a capricious god, they shouldn’t have worked together, nor even been friends; they were just too different.

Weiss was beautiful, incredibly intelligent, and the heiress to the largest company in the world. And she was a normal schoolgirl from Patch, who had just happened to get lucky in the circumstances that had allowed her to attend Beacon early.

If not for Torchwick, she would have gone through the normal application process, only applying after graduating Signal two years later. And by that time, Weiss would have been a third year. The heiress probably wouldn’t have even deigned to notice a snot-nosed girl from the country. They would never have been placed together, never have been forced by the other to confront their many issues, and they never would have grown close.

Love was a strange animal. She had thought she understood it. She loved Yang, she loved her father, and she loved her mother. That was one type of love, it made her feel safe, knowing that Yang would always be there for her. That had been her summation of her knowledge of love. As puberty hit and still no other feelings emerged, she had felt that the stories of irrepressible longing towards another were just fabrications.

But like the stealthiest of animals, love had stalked her, slowly getting closer as she spent more and more time with her partner, until it eventually pounced. The feelings she had for Weiss were not comforting, they were not of safety. They were exciting. They were electric. Every time she saw the familiar alabaster locks, weaving their way through a crowd towards her, her heart began to race, her palms grew sweaty, and she desperately tried to think of something witty to say that wouldn’t leave Weiss rolling her eyes. Unfortunately she had failed on the last one all too often.

At the time she had not recognised that new type of love, even after they had kissed, she was still overwhelmed by the newness of everything she was discovering. Neither of them had taken the time to stop and analyse what they were doing, they were enjoying plunging into the unknown together too much.

But now, on the precipice of a chasm filled with unbearable loss, one she had only just managed to climb out of, she had time. All the time in the world to think about the girl who lay still under her hand. The hand that was slowly being stained crimson as Weiss’ blood leaked through the cloth. Or at least as much time as it took until Weiss had none left.

There was nothing she could do, everyone else in the Bullhead were mere shadows to her eye, Blake and Oobleck hadn’t returned, and she didn’t know how to treat a bullet wound. The only options open to her were to continue to press down and to pray. Pray that Weiss wouldn’t be stolen from her life, pray that they could have a lazy evening together watching a film, even pray that Weiss would once again be able to call her a dunce and lecture her on all the things she had done wrong. That Weiss’ face would tense up once again in the way she thought was intimidating, but was now only incredibly endearing.

But against the dark metal floor her pale features were slack and lifeless. Ruby prayed, but if she had learned anything from the last thirty six hours, it was the gods were cruel. They cared not for the want of mortals, they had no empathy for suffering, and as the pulsing stream below her hand turned to nothing but a weak trickle, Ruby knew once again they cared not for her as well.

“Weiss… please… wake up… Weiss… please… please,” Ruby let go off the soiled cloth and shook her shoulders roughly. Weiss’ head lolled back and forth, white strands were dragged through the blood and dyed scarlet.

“Weiss please…” Ruby pulled Weiss close to her, burying her face on the bare skin that was entirely too cold. She closed her eyes and wept. Wept for everything she was losing and as lightly as a feather landing, Weiss’ final breath slipped from her frail chest.

And Ruby’s world ended.

It simply wasn’t worth existing in anymore. Ruby hugged her partner’s body and with her eyes still closed, started to shuffle towards the gaping maw of the aircraft and the blessed relief of the ground so far below.

Wanting her last sight to be of Weiss’ face, one she could pretend was only peacefully asleep, Ruby opened her eyes.

And was shocked to find herself staring up into brilliant azure ones.

“Ruby! It’s going to be ok. It’s going to be ok.” Weiss sounded frantic, almost pleading.

Of course it was going to be ok; Weiss was alive and looked to be uninjured. That was a little confusing but Ruby didn’t care. She revoked everything she had said about the gods, one of them was listening and her prayers had been answered. It was a miracle, hers and Weiss’.

She started to rise, intent on clinging onto Weiss and never letting go, but a terrible rending pain in her stomach tore the strength from her muscles.

“Ruby don’t move! You’ve been shot.”

_What, when did that happen? It was Weiss who got hurt, wasn’t it?_ Now she was really confused. But she was unable to deny the fiery monster that was clawing at her belly; she let out a whine of agony.

From the change of expression on her face, the sound inflicted infinitely more pain on Weiss than she was feeling. Tears welled up at the corners of Weiss’ eyes as she looked down.

“Ruby…” Weiss choked out. “It’s going to be ok. I’m going… I’m going to make it all better.” She started crying in earnest, large droplets of anguish that carved salty paths over the smooth skin of her face.

_Those words sounded familiar._ But Weiss wouldn’t lie to her, not after everything they had been through together. The trust they shared between each other was absolute. If Weiss said it was going to be ok, it would be.

“Ruby… I love you.” Weiss said the words she had waited so long to here, Ruby wanted nothing more than to return the sentiment, to tell Weiss she loved her too, and they would be together forever. But when she tried to speak her throat seized up.

Weiss knelt over her and placed her right hand gently on her chest.

“Goodbye…”

To Ruby’s absolute horror, Weiss’ word was accompanied by her raising Myrtenaster. _No!_ Ruby tried to cry out, to say she was ok, to move, to stop her. But her body was not her own, it didn’t obey her commands any longer and all she could was watch as Weiss pressed her weapon’s point against her abdomen.

Ruby felt the sharp pain as it dug through the first layer of her skin. It was so acute it drowned out everything else.

“I love you.” Weiss repeated; she wasn’t even looking at her anymore.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Weiss began to push. The white hot lance of agony, slipped though the thin membrane of her skin, and carved a path through her organs. Finally Ruby regained control of her voice and she did the only thing that she could do in that situation.

She screamed, long and loud.

“Ruby!”

Silver eyes flared open, Weiss loomed above her, and Ruby found she was no longer a helpless victim. Her fist shot up from her side and slammed into the apparitions face. Her hand to hand combat still wasn’t up to level that Yang would have liked it to be. But it seemed as though the training her sister had put her through, carried across into the dream world.

The Semblance enhanced punch impacted with an audible thump that sent a jolt up her arm. _Weiss_ was thrown off of her and sent tumbling to the floor. She scrambled backwards, her feet getting tangled in the sweat covered quilt until her back was pressed up against the headboard.

_Weiss’_ shocked gasps of hurt sounded from just out of sight and Ruby waited for her to make reappearance, Myrtenaster back in her hands. When she didn’t surface, Ruby’s clouded mind began to clear.

It was the pain that started to banish the fog. Hitting someone hurts, not as much as getting hit admittedly, but it still hurts, a lot. Her punch had ripped the skin off her knuckles and in the moonlight she could see crimson staining the snow white pillow.

_Pillow?_ _Wasn’t she meant to be in a Bullhead flying away from Vale? How had she gotten here? In a bed?_ Her hand was on fire as she rubbed her fingers over it, the pain flaring to new heights. _Wait, she could control her movements, was she lucid dreaming? But then why did it hurt._

The realisation of the reality of her situation dropped on her like a ton of bricks.

“Weiss!” Ruby cried out in the quiet of what she now realised was their bedroom.

She tried to jump up, but the quilt was wrapped tightly around her ankles and she fell forwards. Heedless of the blood that was undoubtedly being smeared over the pristine white sheets; she desperately crawled over their ridiculously large bed until Weiss came into her view.

Her girlfriend was lying on her front, an arm trapped beneath her, her loose hair splayed around her head. Her gown had risen and was displaying one half of her underwear, but Weiss didn’t seem to be cognisant of her lack of modesty. The terror fuelled punch seemed to have completely robbed her of her wits.

Ruby dropped onto the luxurious carpet and gently rolled Weiss over. She almost wished she hadn’t. The porcelain perfection that was Weiss’ face had been shattered and marred by her attack. The pale flesh was covered in a mixture of saliva and blood. The lips which Ruby knew first hand to be so soft had been mashed against pearly teeth until they had ruptured from the force. Her pupils were dilated and her eyes roved unseeingly. The tremor of guilt that Ruby had been feeling erupted into an earthquake.

“Weiss, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… I thought…” But she realised there was nothing that would excuse her for assaulting her girlfriend in their bed.

It shouldn’t have been that bad, her hand to hand combat skills were still atrocious and even when enhanced with her Semblance she shouldn’t have been able to hurt Weiss through her Aura. But Weiss hadn’t been using her Aura.

Using an Aura took a small, but constant toll on the hunter’s body. Like most Weiss usually stopped using it as part of her usual preparation for sleep. She could do that because she trusted Ruby implicitly and felt completely safe in her company. And now she had betrayed that trust. That hurt was the worst.

“Weiss… Weiss…” Her kneeling over Weiss’ bloodstained and prostrate form brought back too many horrific memories, but this time there was no one nearby to help her. “Please…” Where Weiss was concerned any lessons of first aid just slipped from her mind.

It was the same thing that had happened in the Bullhead. When Weiss had collapsed she just simply hadn’t been able to form any coherent thoughts. It had been Blake and Oobleck who had saved her life, not the person who was meant to be her partner. That person had been worse than useless.

But even with Blake and Oobleck, they had almost lost her. The horrific firefight they had been thrust into had robbed them of many of their medical supplies and the turbulent flight of the small aircraft made any more delicate care out of the question.

Winter had been close to apocalyptic upon learning the state her sister was in. She had ordered all the aircraft to land a few kilometres outside of Vale and had approached the Bullhead angrily. Her expression had transformed when she laid eyes upon the person who had been responsible for her sister’s safety.

Glynda had also been in a critical condition. Whereas Weiss had taken a single bullet to the lower back, she had taken multiple. It had been a desperate and ultimately futile struggle for Port, who had been shot in his rescue, Oobleck who was going back and forth between her and Weiss, and some of the other teachers, to stop her slipping away.

Winter had acted with brisk efficiency, selecting the more seriously injured to be transferred to one of the SDC aircraft. Ruby never thought she would have wanted to hear Weiss cry out in pain, but it would have been better than the awful silence as Erashan had carefully picked her up.

She had scampered after them, not wanting to be separated from Weiss for more than a moment. Winter had almost refused to allow her to board, before relenting. Weiss’ care was taken over by one of the SDC medics, though they ran into a problem.

Weiss had lost a lot of blood, and the scant supplies they did have had either been donated to the doctors at Beacon or were already in use. But there had been no shortage of volunteers to donate theirs to save the Schnee heir. Winter refused them all, smoothly inserting the needle into the artery in her wrist, all the while holding the hand opposite from the one Ruby clutched.

With everyone loaded, their aircraft had quickly climbed to cruising altitude before heading towards Atlas at a maximum speed far exceeding what the Bullhead could have managed. Winter had spent the entire flight to the hospital speaking to Weiss as if she were awake, while her blood kept Weiss alive. If Ruby had believed Winter didn’t care for her sister, that journey forced her to correct her opinions.

They had made it into the waiting care of a full hospital staff. But looking down at Weiss sprawled on the floor; Ruby was forced to relive the nightmare of that day again. “Weiss!”

To her great relief, at the sound of her name, azure eyes began to gather their focus. Weiss touched her fingers to her lips and they came away with a scarlet sheen. She rolled her jaw and it clicked loudly in the silence.

“Owww.” Weiss sounded a lot less refined than she normally did. She shook her head, clearing it and finally her gaze focused squarely on Ruby.

“Ruby are you ok?” Weiss continued to roll her jaw but her voice was soft and concerned.

“Of course I’m not ok, I punched you!” She didn’t mean to cause Weiss to jump by raising her voice, any more than she meant for the tears which had been gathering in the corner of her eyes to break loose. “I punched you in our bed, because I’m fucking broken. Every time I close my eyes I’m back there. In Vale. With all the people who died because I wasn’t strong enough. They’re fucking haunting me, because they know it was my fault. I see Yang get torn apart by a pack of Beowolves and I can only get there to watch her bleed out. I see Blake get slaughtered by a Deathstalker. I see Penny laughing as she stabs Jaune. I see Glynda get shot down when I could have saved her.

“Every time. And the worst…” her voice lost much of its power, sobs overcoming her, “The worst is when I see you die, again and again… I hold you in my arms and feel your life slip away and I can’t do anything to stop it…” she was crying in earnest now. “And if that’s not enough, I hit you. I’m not even safe to be around. I don’t deserve to sleep in your bed.”

Weiss’ face had gone through several emotions as Ruby unburdened so much of what had been bottled up inside of her. Surprise, shock, horror, before settling on sadness and compassion. Ruby didn’t see it with her silver eyes clouded over, but she felt Weiss’ usual cool touch on her bare upper arms as she was pulled into an embrace.

Ruby tried to struggle out of it. She knew she didn’t deserve it after what she had done, but in a rare display of strength Weiss didn’t let her. The arms enfolding her may as well have been steel shackles and as much as Ruby tried she couldn’t overcome them.

Weiss held on long enough for her feral energies to leave her, exorcised by the subtle scent of lavender and the tang of her skin that was Weiss. Drawn out by just the simple, magical thing that was the touch of one you knew who cared about you.

Ruby stopped struggling and instead buried her face in the soft skin of her partner’s neck and cried. The river that escaped from her carried in it all the things she had been hiding, suppressing. It carried her sense of loss, her injustice at being forced into this position, her anger, and her crippling fear.

The wordless soothing noises helped, as did the steady circular motions on her back. Weiss didn’t try and say anything, she perhaps understood that this was Ruby’s problem and she was dealing with it in the best way she knew how.

It wasn’t long before even the energy to cry disappeared from her and she slumped up against Weiss.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured into the crook of Weiss’ neck.

“It wasn’t your fault. You just had a bad dream. You didn’t know what you were doing.”

“I still hurt you.”

Weiss pushed her back until she was forced to stare into her face. It was just as bad as it had been before. A bloody visage; a testament to her crimes. Her thoughts must have been visible in her expression.

“Ruby I’m fine.” Weiss rubbed at her lips, wiping the congealed blood away and revealing almost healed flesh beneath. “I’m a huntress remember. Yang has hit me a lot harder than you would ever be able to.” Her joke failed to lift Ruby’s mood. “You mustn’t torture yourself over this, it was an accident. That’s all it was. Now let’s get up.”

Weiss rose smoothly before reaching down for to help her girlfriend, but she froze as she brought Ruby’s left hand into the moonlight flitting through the curtain. Ruby was as surprised as Weiss to see her fingers coated in blood.

In the midst of her confusion, her worry about her partner, and her subsequent anguish, she had entirely missed any pain flaring from her hand. The wound itself was nasty. Weiss’ teeth had ripped a jagged section of skin from her knuckles and a strip of flesh was hanging loose.

“Ruby you’re bleeding.” Weiss sounded more hurt by this than anything else, as though she felt guilty for injuring her. “Why haven’t you used your Aura?”

“Oh…” She probably should have done, the moment it happened, but it just hadn’t occurred to her.

Reaching inside of herself, to the place that was just so hard to explain to someone who didn’t have full control over their own, she manifested her soul. It felt like a warm embrace and she directed it towards her hand. By itself her Aura would heal most minor wounds over the span of a few hours, but it was possible to specifically direct it to speed up the action.

It took a lot more Aura, and in combat was only worth doing on the most debilitating wounds, but here, in what would be safety but for her actions, she could spare it. Weiss had obviously already done so.

Her hand increased in temperature by a few degrees as the energy contained by her soul flared into the area surrounding the wound. Upon activating her Aura the pain * she had only just noticed numbed slightly, and as her bodies normal mechanisms were sped up by orders of magnitude, it diminished more significantly.

The blood stopped flowing out, platelets gathering in the ruptures and causing it to congeal. The ragged edges of the cut smoothed, but there her body ran into a problem. It was intelligent enough to recognise, that there was a strip of flesh still hanging from the wound.

One of major limitations of the application of Aura was that it could not repair an injury where an obstruction was still present. The body could handle small pieces of grit or dirt, but it was unable to heal a bullet wound if the bullet was still inside. The very thing that had almost stolen Weiss from her.

Ruby knew she had two options; either rip the flap off and wait for a new layer of skin to form, something like that would take days. Or she could try and clean the wound and hope her body would be able to accept the flesh.

Weiss obviously recognised her dilemma. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

Still somewhat in a daze Ruby let herself get pulled to her feet. Her bare toes sank into the thick, cream, coloured carpet. Like everything else in the room it was likely ridiculously expensive. Living with Weiss in their room back at Beacon, when she was in her school uniform, it had been possible to forget just who she was.

Here, in Atlas, in the penthouse of a five star hotel owned by the SDC, it was close to impossible. Everything about her surroundings screamed money and an awful lot of it. From the carpet, to the stupidly complex electronics, to the priceless works of art adorning the walls.

Weiss fit into this world seamlessly. She looked right at home in the futuristic and minimalist apartment: it just suited her. In these surroundings, none would mistake her for anything other than the multi-millionaire heiress to a multinational company. Unlike Ruby, Weiss didn’t constantly worry she was going to spill her drink and ruin a piece of furniture that cost more than the average family would make in a year, she didn’t feel the urge to rest her feet on glass table and then nervously try and rub away the smudges on its pristine surface before anyone noticed.

Being at home was meant to put you at ease, but Ruby never felt at ease here. She was constantly on edge. In the days when there was no one else here, it felt too spacious, too quiet. At Beacon, at Signal, there had always been noise. Whether it was boisterous people in the courtyard below their dormitory’s window, or the reports of gunfire as the students trained, or even just the sounds of wildlife. The lilting song of birds, calling for a mate, two foxes fighting over a meal, or a dog barking from the city below.

Here, in this entirely sterile apartment, there was only silence. The rich do not want to be disturbed by those they believed under them and so the hotel had been designed. With the windows shut, the bustle of Atlas was silenced, until she felt like she could hear her own her body just ticking away. It was far too disturbing.

So she kept the windows open, turned the heating up to counter the frigid chill of the air, and she even left music playing in all the different rooms. Just to try and make the place seem a little less cavernous.

With other people here it was fine, she had something to distract her, but there were other people here far too seldom. Weiss normally worked long hours at the SDC’s headquarters either returning home with the setting sun, or sometimes not coming back at all. Blake had all but disappeared in the last few weeks, reappearing only momentarily before vanishing again.

Ruby tried to spend most of her free time with Yang, and though her sister provided the companionship she so needed, there was something a little bit off about her. It was the smallest thing, she couldn’t quite place her finger on, but it was there, and even then Yang was too often unreachable.

The close ties that had formed between their team when they were thrust together and forced to spend copious amounts of time in each other’s company, though still there, had begun to fray. They had no combined purpose anymore.

They were no longer training to become huntresses. The White Fang had seen to that. Although the loss of Beacon would have been problematic, they should have been able to cope, train somewhere else, but there were still too many obstacles.

Though a legal battle was still raging, Yang, Blake, and almost everyone else who fought in Vale, were still part of Vale’s army. At the moment there was an impasse in the courts, with some saying that Ozpin had illegally seized power, but if he won, they would have to carry out his orders.

Weiss, Winter and the rest of the SDC troops were not part of Vale’s army, Ozpin had relinquished that claim the moment a horde of lawyers had descended on him. But Weiss had had to put aside her desire to become a huntress as well.

Ruby didn’t know the details, but the SDC had obviously been hit hard by the events of Vale. They were maintaining a stoic appearance in the media, but if her father had given Weiss an office on the same floor as Winter’s, Ruby knew it must be bad. The stress Weiss was under was apparent every time her thousand lien boots were discarded carelessly at the door, and she collapsed onto one of the sofas.

And where did that leave her? Like Weiss, she wasn’t part of the army of Vale but for a different reason. She was too young. Despite her going through everything, witnessing every messed up detail the same as everyone else, despite her leadership holding one of the most important roads into Beacon. Despite her doing far more than all but a handful of the people who had been there. She was a child, and she was too immature.

Ozpin may have had legal basis for conscripting the rest of the students, but a fifteen year old, not a chance. Anyone under the age of eighteen had been temporarily discharged until they came of age. For the majority it would be a couple of months at most. For her it would be years.

It wasn’t as if she even wanted to join up. Her last desire was to be in another situation as horrific as the one in Vale had been. Fighting Grimm by herself or with her team in a forest was ok. Killing people was not. When she closed her eyes, his face was just another of the myriad of things that haunted her.

No. All she wanted to do was protect her friends. If they were sent back into danger, she wanted to be by their side. But she wouldn’t be allowed to be.

So she had been left in limbo. There were no real options open to her. If she wanted she could apply to join any of the academies around the world and they would probably relax their own entry age restrictions like Ozpin had. But if the majority of the people at Beacon had not been able to match her skill, how would she cope at one of the lesser schools, likely made to repeat the first year?

As conceited as it was, she knew that wasn’t an option. She didn’t want to replace team RWBY with a team that would undoubtedly be inferior in every way. She didn’t want to have to sit through lectures on Grimm, when she had killed more than the rest of the students combined. And she didn’t want to have to leave Weiss.

It was a situation that had no easy answer and she had so much time to ponder it in the silence. It wouldn’t have been that bad if she had Zwei here. Though animals weren’t usually allowed in the hotel and it would certainly cause the staff that cared for their apartment to have a fit, she was certain Weiss could have smoothed it over.

But Zwei was quarantined with all the other pets that had been brought from Vale. She knew the reasons behind it, and though Weiss had ensured he was being confined only around ten minutes away, she still missed him. The short visits she had only served to make her heartache more acute.

In her loneliness and despite her usual shyness around strange people, she had even resorted to attempting to talk to the staff who kept their apartment looking like there was no one living there. The first time she had tried talking to one of the maids, it had almost given her a heart attack. Weiss had to explain later that most who stayed here, would no more notice the help than they would the furniture.

All the staff had been exceeding polite, but most had tried to end the conversation as quickly as possible. Only one of the maids had responded to her tentative reach for companionship and had chatted away merrily while doing her work. But she only came once a week, and though Weiss could have made sure it was more often, it was another thing that Weiss didn’t deserve to be burdened with.

Before this she had never had to think about what life with Weiss would actually be like after Beacon. In her stupidity she had assumed it would be the same, they would just spend time together and go out hunting Grimm. And they would have a nice house somewhere with all her friends nearby.

But Weiss had a multi-national company to run; she didn’t have the time to go on frivolous hunts. Anywhere else, Ruby knew she would have been able to alleviate her dire boredom by grabbing Crescent Rose and heading into the wilderness. Any Grimm she killed was one that wouldn’t descend on a helpless family; it would have made her feel useful. But in mainland Atlas there were no Grimm, they had all been driven back.

Hunters very rarely operated in Atlas, and if they did, they sought different prey. A prey she never wanted to hunt again. It was something she had never considered before. Her entire life had been built around becoming a huntress, but Weiss’ goal had always been to take over the SDC.

If they were to stay together one of them would have to give. Either she would have to find a new direction for her life, or Weiss would have to leave Atlas. She supposed it was possible that Weiss could run the SDC from another country, but would Weiss really be content to live in a house as small as the one she grew up in on Patch? One that was actually a home?

The ground under her bare feet transitioned from lush carpet to marble tiles. They should have made her dance from foot to foot as they leached the heat from her soles, but instead warmth sank into her from the heated pipes just beneath them. Her first experience of them, had filled her with exhilaration, it was something she had read about but never thought to experience. Weiss had sighed exasperatedly as she had flopped down on the tiles, but like so much it had excited her.

It had helped that she was in a great mood, Weiss had been discharged from the hospital with a clean bill of health, and she had even been too exhausted by worry to have had any nightmares as she slept in a chair at Weiss’ bedside. Upon entering the penthouse for the first time it had almost overwhelmed her. It was just too big, too fancy looking, too different from what she was used to. With childish enthusiasm she had rushed from room to room, playing it up slightly because it made Weiss smile. But she had actually been looking forward to staying here.

Now the heated tiles, the shower without any glass where water cascaded from holes in the ceiling, the giant bath, and the room which was larger than their dormitory at Beacon, were all just another reminded of how different Weiss’ life was to hers. Even the lights gradually brightened as they entered, like most of things in the apartment there were no actual controls, everything was operated by sensors.

Weiss led her to the spotless white sink and as Ruby stared at her girlfriend’s reflection in the mirror, the guilt flared up again. In the soft moonlight, Weiss’ appearance had looked bad, in the brightness of the bathroom, it was worse. Weiss had bled, a lot. It covered her face, her jaw, and it had stained the top of her nightgown. There was also a purplish bruise blossoming just under her skin. They faded quicker for hunters than normal people, but even application of Aura couldn’t stop them forming entirely. Weiss would wear a constant reminder of the crime perpetrated against her for the next couple of days.

Weiss didn’t seem to care about her appearance; she was instead peering intently at the bloody hand held in her own. “I’m going to have to clean it. This is going to hurt… I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? Weiss I hit you!” Ruby pulled her hand from Weiss’ grasp; she didn’t deserve any of this. Weiss should have thrown her out, had her arrested, done anything other than care for her.

“It was an accident.” For the first time Weiss raised her voice. “That’s all it was. You didn’t mean to hit me, and I will not allow you to beat yourself up about it. You had a bad dream, just like I have bad dreams, and you weren’t in control of yourself. It’s not your fault. And I’ve already forgiven you.”

“But ̶ ̶ ”

“I am not hearing anymore on this subject. Ruby these things happen. You didn’t hold it against me when I stabbed you in practice. It was an accident and you just laughed it off, even when I felt terrible. But you helped me forgive myself. Now you need to do the same thing. It was an accident. Understand?”

She didn’t. The incident Weiss was referring to had been an accident. They had been duelling without supervision and Weiss had been on top, but it had been close. She’d ignored her Aura alarm and flared her Semblance, throwing everything into a final attack. Weiss hadn’t expected the sudden rush of speed and hadn’t managed to get Myrtenaster out of the way in time.

It was her fault more than Weiss’ and the wound itself hadn’t been deep, only about half an inch. It had been painful for a few days but it had healed fine. That had been an accident, a set of circumstances that led to an unfortunate outcome.

Punching her girlfriend in their bed was not. Her mind may have been confused at the time, but she could remember with all too perfect clarity as to how her terror had turned to elation as her fist struck. Hitting Weiss had caused her joy; that was messed up. She was not ok, but she didn’t want to cause Weiss any more turmoil by having her worry over her, so she nodded and stared at the floor.

“Good. Now stay still.”

The next ten minutes were painful, not due to the flashes hurt racing along her nerves, but because Weiss was so tender in her ministrations. She didn’t deserve it, didn’t deserve Weiss.

She looked up from her study of her toes when she felt the Weiss’ lips brush the back of her hand. Her knuckles were wrapped in a soft bandage, and the sensation of the torn skin had receded to a dull ache. Weiss traced a line of kisses up the exposed skin, over the bandage, and along her fingers. Each one was a little deeper and lingered a little longer. The other side of her hand was given the same treatment, until Weiss’ lips came to rest on her palm, her tongue flicked over it playfully, sampling the tang of the flesh, before she relented.

“There you are. I’ll have another look when I get back tonight.” Weiss said, releasing the control of the limb.

“Thank you.” Ruby said almost automatically, but it was sincere enough that Weiss broke into her breathtaking, but more importantly real, smile. It didn’t lift Ruby as it usually did. The spotless whiteness of Weiss’ teeth, only served to contrast against the crusted blood, something that Weiss must also have noticed in the mirror. She dipped her face down and washed it the best she could with her hand.

When she rose with now only the bruise and her soiled clothes as evidence to Ruby’s crime, she was about to speak when the words died in her throat. Instead Weiss covered her mouth with the back of her hand and her jaw locked wide open in a deep yawn.

If possible it Ruby feel even worse, she knew Weiss had always had trouble getting to sleep when under pressure. The night before a big test, she would stay up to the small hours studying and would often be up when the rest of them awoke. With all the stress heaped onto her by her job, it was even worse now.

Ruby could count on the fingers of one hand how many times she had seen Weiss asleep since they had left the hospital. Every time she woke, Weiss would either be watching her, staring unblinkingly up at the ceiling, sitting up and answering emails on her scroll, or entirely absent. It wasn’t healthy, she had tried to help her, buying herbal teas and remedies, and they did seem to have some effect. But all too often Weiss was the one rousing her from her nightmares as she tossed and turned on their bed.

It had gotten so bad she had even suggested to Weiss that they sleep in different rooms, as they were supposedly doing. Weiss had very quickly shut down that train of thought, saying she didn’t want to be alone. At the time Ruby had been grateful. Now though, it was perhaps time to broach the subject again, there was a big difference between robbing Weiss of her sleep and attacking her.

Ruby only realised she had been standing still, staring sightlessly ahead while thinking, when soft fingertips brushed against her wrist. Weiss pulled her through the door and waved her hand at the black panel that controlled the lighting. The concealed strip lighting in the ceiling flared to life, illuminating the giant room in a soft hue.

Ruby should have had enough things to feel guilty about but as the room came into view, so did the blood spattered about it. Her actions had painted a grim tableau over the room. Droplets of scarlet had been scattered in a spray over the bedding and the walls when her fist struck. The blood from her knuckles had drawn a line over the sheets as she had scrambled across, and it had pooled at the where she had been kneeling on the thick carpet.

“I’m so ̶ ̶ ”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Weiss interrupted her lame apology. “I’ll have someone clean it later, it’s no big deal. Now come on.”

Ruby was briskly dragged into the spacious living area, where Weiss deposited her on one of the many modern white leather sofas. They may have been obscenely expensive, but they weren’t comfortable to sit on, they were hard and almost insisted that you correct your posture.

“Wait here.”

As Weiss walked away when she was almost out of sight, her hand went to the small of her back. More guilt. Underneath her blood stained nightgown, Ruby knew Weiss was massaging the remnants of the wound. It was still covered by a bandage and her doctor came to see her every other day. As much as Weiss tried to hide it, it was obvious it still bothered her and she had only aggravated it.

It could have been so much worse. The bullet had struck her back less than an inch away from her spine; it could easily have crippled her. As it was it had clipped her kidney before lodging in her intestines. It had only been Weiss’ Aura and the skill of her doctors that had stopped developing a lethal case of sepsis. But it had still been so close and Ruby had spent days and days by her bedside and in the waiting room when Weiss was in the operating theatre, praying for her to make a recovery. When Weiss had, she’d foolishly thought that was the end of her problems.

With nothing else to do Ruby looked aimlessly around the room. The news was playing without sound behind her, but as always it was full of depressing things and the morning had been bad enough already. She only checked for long enough to see the time, _5:03_ , early, but Weiss would probably be getting out of bed soon normally. It was certainly too late for them to try and get to sleep in another one of the bedrooms.

With her back to the TV, Ruby stared over the dining table and out the floor to ceiling window that spanned the entire wall. At the moment it was only letting in the smallest slivers of light, even though there were no curtains, they were far too old fashioned. Even if she disliked most of the things about this apartment, the technology was cool. It only took a click of her fingers, a finger pointing at the window, and her raising her hand for the entire expanse to become completely transparent.

The view it revealed stole her breath away. The hotel was tall enough that it towered over most of the other buildings in Atlas. The penthouse offered her a view over the sprawling capital and out into the frozen tundra beyond.

The sun was only just creeping over the horizon. Its iridescent glory chased the shadows left by the night away and revealed what had been left in its absence. Back on Patch, she had always thoroughly enjoyed any of the rare snowfall they received. It was pretty and it was an awful lot of fun. Some of her best memories were of playing in the snow with her parents and Yang. Carefree days, where nothing in the world seemed like it could go wrong. Winter held a special place in her heart because of them.

But snowfall in Vale was nothing when compared to Atlas. Every night, the city would be covered by a fresh blanket. It was quickly dealt with by the efficiency of the population, but it was early enough that at the moment it was almost untouched.

For as far as her eye could see, the world had been perfected. The city, the roads, the farms, and buildings all around, had been covered by purity. The snow was an unending blanket that hid the machinations of society, and returned the world to its more primal state.

As the sun rose ever higher, dispelling the tempestuous grey clouds in the sky, the snow began to sparkle. Countless millions of diamonds absorbed its light and refracted it back into the air. A sea of incalculable worth, resting on top of roofs and hanging off trees, stretching from horizon to horizon. It was simply stunning.

“I like to watch the sun rise too.” A quiet voice by her ear caused her to jump, caught up in the spectacle; Weiss’ return had entirely escaped her notice. “Here.”

Ruby felt the warm embrace of her cloak as Weiss wrapped it gently around her shoulders. She didn’t have stuffed animals anymore, but the simple stretch of soft material had always provided her with comfort and her arms held it close, breathing in its scent.

In however long she had been fixated by the majestic sight out the window, Weiss had showered and changed into a white suit, though she was still barefoot. The bruise on her face was all but invisible under a layer of skilfully applied makeup, but it was still there. She settled down on the couch next to her, immediately finding the correct posture.

“It’s beautiful. Every night everything we do is covered over and I can almost pretend we can start afresh, that this day will be different, that it won’t be so ugly…” Weiss trailed off from that train of thought before starting again.

“From up here the view is incredible, but there are still too many signs of habitation. It won’t be long before it’s ploughed off the roads, melts as the factories start to belch smoke, it gets sullied here. I should take you to my family’s estate. From my balcony you can see almost as far, but there are no other buildings, just gardens, all covered in a layer of white. You can walk through them, with the snow crunching underfoot, in the way only the freshest snow does, you know? Breathe in the crisp, clean air, take in the scent of the flowers who had managed, despite the odds, to open their petals. Hear the chittering of the animals as they struggle though the barrier blocking their burrows, and watch as they leap over the tundra. Walk down the…” Weiss suddenly realised she was rambling and stopped talking.

“That sounds nice.” The few times Weiss had told her about the gardens on her family’s estate, it had always been with such reverence. If what she had pieced together from the scant information about her childhood was correct, they were likely the only happy memories she had from her _home_. “I’d like to visit some time.”

“We should. I just have to find the time. Every time I manage to deal with one issue, another two emerge.” Weiss was clearly exasperated with her workload.

Ruby would have loved to be able to help her. It might make up in the slightest way for all she was putting her through. But bureaucracy was a minefield that she had no experience in and any attempt to help Weiss would only compound the troubles she was already bringing upon her, by robbing her of her much needed sleep. Ruby’s mood plummeted, if there was just a way for her to feel like she wasn’t dead weight.

“Anyway, how about we have a nice big breakfast, what do you want? I’m sure the kitchen will be able to make anything.” Weiss’ upbeat attitude wasn’t helping, she seemed determined to pretend as though this morning hadn’t happened.

“I don’t care,” she almost spat the words and the corner of her eye showed her the smile falling from Weiss’ face. More guilt. “I mean I’ll have what you’re having,” she quickly amended.

Weiss tried to lift her expression again but it was only half hearted. “Right. I’ll order something.”

When Weiss returned she almost started answering emails, before resolutely locking the screen of her scroll and throwing it out of reach. It was clear she was giving Ruby her undivided attention. It was a waste of her valuable time.

For the most part they sat in silence, watching the sun creep higher into the sky, and people start their daily grind. The snow ploughs went to work. The factories and refineries heated up. Vans and lorries began delivering produce to the shops that served the hundreds of thousands that lived here. The largest city in the world gradually woke from its slumber.

The silence itself was not comfortable. It was said that only with the truest friends can silence be as rewarding as a conversation. But they didn’t speak, only because they had nothing to talk about. At Beacon, there was always something, a lesson, an assignment, a duel, their plans for the weekend, or the latest gossip, all because they were in the same situation.

Here they weren’t. Weiss was an executive of a multinational company, whereas she sat and moped in this apartment all day, only venturing out into the bustling city when her boredom was absolute. Weiss tried to give them topics, she asked about her plans for later, even whether she had any new designs for Crescent Rose. But without her meaning them to, Ruby’s answers always killed the conversation.

With this much free time and almost unlimited funds, most who knew her would have expected her to be tinkering away with her weapon. But though she had cleaned and repaired it until it was in a pristine state, the section of her mind that was always inventing new parts, even subconsciously, had been still for days. What good was a new bolt to speed up its action, when the nearest Grimm was over a thousand miles away? There just didn’t seem to be a point.

It was a relief when the food arrived and as usual, the way Weiss was treated made her uncomfortable. In Vale, Weiss had been somewhat of a celebrity, in Atlas she was royalty. And in a country that placed so much standing on a person’s lineage, everyone Weiss met treated her as such.

The twenty something maid who had been on the midnight to dawn shift, was visibly shaking when Weiss greeted her at the door. Like all staff at the hotel, she wore very a traditional maid outfit ̶ ̶ all black and white, a design originating in Dione hundreds of years ago that had caught on. Most of the people who stayed here wanted nothing more than to be reminded of the difference between them and those who served them.

“Set it up on the table please.” Sensing the maid’s nervousness, Weiss didn’t loom over her, but gave her space to work.

Halfway through there was a clatter as some cutlery slipped from her trembling fingers, and Ruby looked up to see her blushing furiously, but Weiss didn’t raise her head. She could feel for the maid, being given the graveyard shift meant she was likely not all that experienced and the last thing she would have expected would to be called upon to serve one of the people who owned the hotel. It was hard to reconcile the person who was making the maid so nervous, with the person she knew from Beacon. _Which one was real?_

“Will there will be anything else Ms Schnee?” Her voice quivered at the prospect of addressing her.

“No thank you, give my compliments to the chef.” Weiss gave her a smile along with several notes.

“I will Ms Schnee.” The maid pulled out her skirts in a low curtsey, which even Ruby ̶ ̶ after Weiss’ very detailed lessons ̶ ̶ could see was less than perfect. But there was an expression of relief on her face, that maybe she perhaps hadn’t done as badly as she had feared, as she left with her trolley.

The food smelled good. Rising and padding close, it became apparent that Weiss had ordered a breakfast that was gratuitously unhealthy and wholly unlike anything she would desire for herself. The table was almost sagging under a colossal assortment of pancakes. They were dripping with syrup, slathered with chocolate, laden with fruit, and almost every other ingredient anyone could ever want.

On a normal day, if she had laid eyes on the bounty splayed out in front of her, Ruby knew she would have been bouncing off the ceiling with excitement. But today wasn’t a normal day. Weiss was not forgoing her normal breakfast because she wanted to; instead she was trying to make her happy.

Weiss had sat in the seat at the end of the table. It was clear from her expression that she wasn’t too keen on any of the food, but she selected a stack of pancakes covered with melting white chocolate and set it before herself without making a sound.

“You’re not going to make me eat all this by myself are you?” Weiss was smiling again.

As much as Ruby would have loved to wallow in her misery, she didn’t want to drag Weiss down with her. Not when there was so much already pressing her. She could put on a show for her girlfriend, it’s not like it would have to be a very long one. Weiss would be leaving her alone soon enough.

“Of course not.” She sat down and dragged a plate towards her. Pancakes were her favourite breakfast, Yang had always been able to make mean ones and they provided more than enough energy to make it to lunch.

Though Yang was a good cook, she had to admit that purely taste wise, these were better. A gourmet kitchen probably didn’t get too many orders for something as simple as pancakes, but it didn’t mean they couldn’t make them. They were light enough that they practically fell apart in her mouth and the taste was almost indescribable. For a moment she forgot her worries and just let herself be overwhelmed by the sensation.

But if it was up to her to choose, she still would have picked the ones made by Yang. Though they weren’t as well cooked, they were denser, and the ingredients were cheaper, they were made with love. Yang delivered them with pride and ruffled her hair as she told her to dig in. Spending her time eating with Weiss, they had had many expensive meals, but nothing compared to when Weiss had managed to come home early and decided to cook for her.

It shouldn’t have been surprising that Weiss could cook, after all she excelled at everything else she tried, but it still was. So when Weiss had declared her intention, Ruby had found herself consumed with the desire to watch her. Her girlfriend had moved with the utmost efficiency, not even referring to a recipe but working from memory. She had even taught her how to make pasta. That evening had probably been the happiest she had been since getting here.

They had ended up covered in flour, eggs, cheese, and almost every other ingredient they had used, after one of their many play fights. But the sombre silence of the apartment had been filled with the sounds of laughter, for that evening they were not an heiress and an almost huntress, instead they were just two friends having a good time. At the end they had two dishes, Weiss may not have been pleased with them being less than perfect, but as far as Ruby was concerned, it was the best thing she had ever eaten. And she had made sure to make her gratitude known.

Ruby polished off her pile and reached for another, surprisingly her mood had improved somewhat. As it turned out, comfort food was aptly named. Weiss was still slowly and painfully making her way through her first plate. Here in Atlas her table manners were never anything less than impeccable. She moved methodically and very carefully, eating small, _ladylike,_ bites. There was never even the scrape of a knife or any other sound, Weiss ate silently, as though she feared to draw attention to herself. But at least she was actually having breakfast, too many days she left without.

Ruby had just finished up her third plate and was eyeing up another, wondering if there was space for it in her stuffed belly when Weiss’ voice distracted her from her sinful desires.

“Ruby, do you… do you think it might help if you talked to someone? Me…” Weiss nervously asked, she knew she was treading on previously untested ground.

Ruby’s heart ripped about a hundred beats in a second in panic. She had seen the effect her tear laden confession had on Weiss this morning, but if she told Weiss the real thing that had caused her to wake up screaming, it would destroy her, and their relationship.

Weiss caught the sentiment behind her change in expression. “Not me then… Yang maybe, or Blake,” she sounded hurt but carried on. “Or maybe someone who’s trained to listen and talk it through with you.”

“You think I need a shrink,” her reply had an edge of anger.

“No… I mean, you said yourself you weren’t dealing with this all that well. It might help to talk to someone who knows all about these things, you could say whatever you want in complete confidence, and they would help you understand your feelings a little better. Consider it… for me. You could try just one session and if it doesn’t work out, I won’t mention it again. I just hate seeing you like this,” Weiss finished limply.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. There were some things she wanted to get off her chest, but had no desire to burden her friends with. It might help to get some fresh perspective on some of the things that were haunting her. But if she saw a shrink, it would only confirm how messed up she was.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you. Now I’ve seen you eyeing up that plate, why don’t y ̶ ̶ ”

Weiss’ phone demanded her attention. Ruby hated that phone more than she would have thought possible for an inanimate object. It always stole Weiss from her. Though she carried out most of her business on her scroll, only a few had her mobile number and they didn’t use it if it were less than urgent.

“Yes… Where?... How many?... _Great_. I’ll be in my office in twenty minutes, I’ll call you back. Get things ready.” She hung up before turning apologetically to Ruby.

“I’m sorry. I hate to do this. Especially today. But I’ve got to go. I’ll make it up to you. I promise. When I get back we’ll do something, umm ̶ ̶ ”

“Weiss it’s fine.” _It wasn’t_. “Go, I know it’s important.”

“I’m sorry,” she apologised again before leaning down for a rushed kiss.

Weiss’ lips tasted as good as usual, complimented by a hint of white chocolate, but it was over far too soon. Her girlfriend had other commitments, ones that wouldn’t wait and were a lot more important than her. Weiss rushed to get her heels, grabbed her car key, before stopping at the door.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

Ruby forced herself to smile and wave. “Bye.”

Weiss took a final look back, before stepping though the door, and letting it lock with a whisper behind her. Of course it shut quietly. In the seconds since Weiss departure, the ticking of her body became audible. She could hear her stomach struggling to deal with the food, the air rushing in and out of her lungs, her heart beating.

With Weiss here, the apartment felt like a home, Weiss made it come alive. But by herself, it was nothing more than a decorative tomb and her life was ticking away inside of it. Ruby stared at the door that her partner had disappeared though and as she sat alone once more, the cavernous silence swallowed her.

 


	2. Chapter 2

"As you can see my claims are perfectly justified. The Schnee Dust Company acted without following proper procedures, or giving a month's notice as was pertained in the contract that your sister signed. I have been left significantly out of pocket and have twenty thousand additional units, which are clogging up my warehouses. Now if you turn to page three of the contract, specifically the sections relating to the quantity of the order, I will indicate the relevant sections which show you are in breach of it."

Weiss dutifully clicked the mouse on her glass desk, subtly wiping away the smudges her palm left with her sleeve. But instead of the critical sections of the contract appearing on her screen, she tabbed through to the next page on list of all the registered psychiatrists and psychologists in Atlas.

She was having great difficulty in maintaining her concentration after everything that had happened this morning. Ruby had been having bad dreams almost every night. As she lay awake staring up at the ceiling, wishing that she could sleep, Ruby would toss and turn wishing she was doing anything but.

Most of the time, if her girlfriend didn't seem too distressed, Weiss would let her sleep with the hope that they would get better or at least fade. But all too often, Ruby began to sweat profusely, her face tensing up in terror or horror, her body would twitch and move as if fighting an invisible foe, and she would whimper.

That was the worst part, to hear all the monsters that were stalking her, all the people that were suffering as she was powerless to help them. It was at that point she tried to rouse her, normally it was difficult, Ruby's subconscious was buried far too deep to be easily reached, and every extra second that Ruby spent in her night terrors tore into her.

After waking, Ruby would usually struggle against her embrace momentarily, before realising she was no longer in Vale, and would collapse into it, sobbing. She didn't think Ruby remembered what happened between her short bursts of sleep, her mind probably still wasn't clear, her brain still not fully woken from its restorative cycle. Certainly Ruby had never spoken about it, or even looked about sheepishly.

In between sobs, Ruby talked, and her words ripped at the heart so many said was made of ice. Insomnia was awful and she wouldn't wish it on anyone, but it had been part of her life for as long as she could remember. Often the only way to keep pace with Winter in their lessons had been to study until the early hours of the morning. It hadn't been healthy, but like her problems with eating, no one had cared. That  _demon_  had risen again recently, the thought of food often made her want to vomit, but it was at least one she could actively fight.

At the moment she was probably getting by on a couple of hours of sleep a night. It was taking its toll but it was manageable. She had even taken to meditating again, it was something she had seen online, it could in no way replace sleep, but it seemed to diminish her body's need for it.

She had a lot of problems, but if she were Ruby she would trade for them in a heartbeat. The things Ruby saw when she closed her eyes were terrible, that was the only way to put it. So terrible that Weiss would have found her insomnia a blessing, if she had been cursed with the same dreams.

What Ruby had confessed this morning had only been part of it. While she was cradled in protective arms, she had told her so much more. Her mind plagued her by throwing together every horrific thing it could imagine befalling on everyone she cared about. Shivers had run down her spine more than once as she had been forced to listen to her own death at the hands of the White Fang, the Grimm, the Knights, the pyromancer, even Ruby's own. Ruby had broken down apologising again, again and pressed against her collarbone after revealing that; as though it were something she had actually done.

Her dreams had been bad, but before this morning Ruby had not screamed. She had finally managed to beat her insomnia and had just begun to drift off into her fitful slumber, when the sound woke her. Immediately she had rolled to her knees, going for Myrtenaster, sure they were being attacked. But only Ruby was, her hands were held out in front of her, as though warding something off, as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Weiss could admit, she had felt scared then. Scared enough that rather than waking the person gently as her research had recommended, she had cried out her name and shook her roughly. It was then that Ruby had punched her.

It was a long time since anyone had struck her with her Aura down, so long that she had forgotten just how much it actually hurts to get hit. With an Aura protecting her, even Yang's hits were spread across an area around the size of her fists. All the force of Ruby's punch had been transferred through just two of her knuckles. It had knocked her senseless for a moment, and coming out of the blue like that she hadn't even managed to roll with the punch.

But her instincts had kicked in and even though her mind was clouded, her body had activated her Aura and the passive effects had helped her gain focus. As much as her lip and jaw had been painful, it had been so much more so to see the state that Ruby had been in. Crying and pleading, Ruby had looked pitiful.

The anger had shocked her, and it had been just as much to hear Ruby confess the things that must have been feeling for so long. That Ruby herself thought she was  _fucking broken_ and didn't deserve her, had been enough for her to risk broaching the idea that had been floating around her head for the last couple of days.

Ruby needed help. It wasn't surprising, after Vale it wouldn't be hard to believe that everyone who had been there wasn't suffering in one way or another. They had all seen too many things that were just so wrong. Weiss' hand had unconsciously found its way to her breast, pressing a cheap necklace under her blouse against her heart.

But Ruby had done so much more than most. They had fought for longer, saved more civilians, and walked past more corpses of those they had failed than most others. Before Vale Ruby had been largely innocent to the cruelties of the world, it was obvious in the way she always shied away from killing. For most it was either them or us, that was the way the world worked, but Ruby had wished there could have been a third option. One where the person wouldn't rise to stab you in the back, but would instead seek to resolve their conflict in a different way. It was a perfect dream and one she had been harshly forced to see was not possible.

Professional help would be best. Ruby had to deal with all the baggage from Vale and if her guesses were right some more deep seated issues from her childhood. As much as she might have wished it different, Ruby didn't want to talk to her, but if she decided to see a professional she would get the best one in the city.

That was the problem Weiss was facing at the moment. They had only been in Atlas for a few weeks and regardless, she had no previous experience with this type of help to fall back on. The psychiatrists and psychologists she was looking at didn't have reviews or testimonials, she didn't even know if that was something a patient did after their treatment, maybe not. All they had were copious lists of their qualifications, impressive certainly, but they didn't indicate whether they would be the right fit for Ruby.

She needed to talk to someone who might have a better idea, but she didn't have any friends in Atlas. In reality she didn't have any friends, who hadn't been at Beacon. Ruby had been the very first friend she had ever had. She was the first person who had ever approached her as anything other than a Schnee. It was probably half the reason that they were so close, or at least had been.

The only person she could think of talking to about her problem was Winter. If it was possible to find a positive from what she had been through in Vale, the upturn in the relationship with her sister was it.

It had been pleasant to find that Winter cared enough about her safety to be protective of her. Whether it was the relief Winter had obviously felt upon finding out her sister was alive, or sending Erashan to protect her for the final assaults, or bringing the entirety of their forces on their ill-fated rescue mission.

That almost hadn't been enough. She didn't really remember getting shot, but she did remember pouring so much of her Aura into maintaining the barrier protecting her teammates that there was almost nothing left and after a moment of frigid cold and weakness, nothing.

Consequently she didn't remember anything about her treatment, she had been either unconscious or barely lucid for most of it, but Ruby had filled her in. About how Winter had donated her own blood to keep her sister alive on the flight and had held her hand for the entire journey, talking all the while. She hadn't been there when she had regained consciousness in her hospital bed, but Ruby had told her Winter had visited every day. Which was more than could be said for her father.

She and Winter were trying to thaw their relationship, but a lifetime of instincts could not be undone so quickly. It helped they were spending time together. It was hard not to when they had offices on the same floor. They had even managed to go to lunch together, though they had spent the entire time discussing work. She didn't know if they would be able talk about unimportant things like normal sisters for a whole meal, but hopefully that would come.

Apart from that, their contact had been reduced to quick greetings in the halls, an occasional express elevator ride to the ground floor, or meetings. They were both swamped with work, which was probably the reason her father had given her so much responsibility.

The meeting with her father had started just as well as she had expected it would, as in not well at all. It was just something about her father, under his arctic gaze she would lose her train of thought, and the answers to any questions he asked would slip from her mind.

It wasn't that she didn't know the answers, it was just he expected her not to know, it showed in his expression, and too often he was proven right as she panicked. Of course Winter had always been there to step in with a smirk and the perfect answer, but what else would he expect from his perfect daughter.

Looking back she could see the signs of the systematic abuse that had robbed her of so much and would still be robbing her if she had not learned of her martial prowess. It was a vicious circle, she would struggle to recall information she knew when he looked at her, he would feel vindicated in his assumptions, and that would only increase his hostility the next time he asked, which in turn would cause her to panic even more. It went on and on, until he had finally given up on her, and spent his precious time grooming his  _heir_.

So it had been with some trepidation that she had answered his summons. She had only been discharged from hospital the day before, she hadn't slept at all with worry, and had risen while the moon was high in the sky to begin to prepare.

There was nothing that could be done with her appearance to impress her father but dressing smartly had always increased her own confidence and she needed every advantage possible. A long bath in the luxurious tub had been followed by an hour of selecting outfits and doing her makeup and hair. Food had tasted like ash that particular morning but she had forced an apple down for Ruby.

The headquarters of the SDC were impressive. If you discounted buildings from ages gone by which were impressive for a whole other reason, it was probably the most impressive building in the world. It was certainly the tallest; it was fifty feet higher than even the CCT, though it served much the same purpose only with encrypted company traffic.

Like so much that the SDC did, it was built as a testament to its power. Whenever anyone first approached city of Atlas, their eye would be drawn to the glistening spire. They would have heard of it, probably even seen pictures of it, but nothing could account for seeing it in the flesh. Most Atlesian buildings were built for utility, the Eiszapfen was not. It was undeniably beautiful, rising into the sky it looked every inch its namesake. Its many facets would catch the sun and sparkle as it moved through the sky and no matter how deep the snow on the ground, none was able to settle upon it. It was nothing less than an architectural marvel and her father had his office right at the top, where he could look down on the world that was practically his.

She had arrived for her appointment half an hour early, she needn't have bothered. Her father liked to make people wait, to let them know his time was much more valuable than theirs. He had kept her waiting for almost an hour past the time they had scheduled, an hour of sitting on the uncomfortable chairs while his personal assistants gave her apologetic looks, they were only too familiar with his games.

It was simply one she couldn't win. It had been obvious he was going to make her wait, but if she turned up late, his schedule would have magically opened up at the appointed time and she still would have lost. Her father was a man who won no matter what he decided to play.

It hadn't helped that the hard seat had been aggravating her back. Having seen the x-rays in her medical file, she knew how lucky she had been. An inch to the side and she would have been unlikely to have ever walked again. The twinges of pain every so often were a blessing but that didn't mean they were any easier to live with. Her doctor had told her she was young and fit enough to recover fully; all she had to do was wait, as she was doing.

The moment she had been told he was ready for her, all the nerves that had gradually simmered down, had flared back up in a rush. Her legs had trembled and it had taken longer than it should have to return her phone to her clutch purse. She was only going to see her father, but at that moment she would have preferred to find a pack of blood lusted Beowolves on the other side of the door. It would have been easier.

Her father did not raise his head when she entered, he just carried on typing, but she knew he would be watching. An outsider they would probably have wondered why he was causing a trained huntress who had faced down monsters to shake.

At first glance, if you didn't know who he was, Arian Schnee was not an imposing man. Most would expect the head of the most powerful company in the world to be something special, he was not. He was of average height, he had average looks ̶ ̶ Winter's and now, thanks to Ruby, she realised her beauty came from their mother ̶ ̶ apart from the tell-tale Schnee hair colour, and as much as it rankled him, he had an average strength Aura. Which was probably part of the reason why he resented her training to become a huntress so much, for all his wealth and power, it was a career path that was not open to him.

In a crowd there was no reason why he should have stood out and yet he did. Where he moved people made way; that was at least something she had picked up from him. As much as most would deny it, everyone had a deep seated desire to be told what to do. It was ingrained into society to listen to those who were your superior, so if you just walked as if you expected your path to be clear, others picked up on it, and even in a busy street it would be so.

The one characteristic of him that was definitely not average was his mind. His body may not have been the strongest, but he was ferociously intelligent. He could rattle off every major House from Atlas, name every member of them, all their business interests, and who they were allied with, all while reading a newspaper.

It was just another reason he had often become so exasperated with her progress in lessons. Whereas Winter had inherited his capacity for intelligence, she had only received part of it. Though it put her far above most, it put her leagues behind the pair of them, and even all her extra studies could not contribute to the deficit. Winter was close to his equal, she was not and would never be.

"Good morning father," she said respectfully, at least trying to feign some happiness at seeing him again as she dropped into a curtsey.

It was an incredibly conceited way that he required his daughters to greet him, but he was an incredibly egotistical person. Before Beacon she hadn't realised just how strange it really was, it had just been her assumption that most families did it. Now she knew better.

Her curtsey was absolutely perfect; she had even picked a white sundress from the clothes she had found in her apartment just so she could flare her skirts. Not that it gained any points in her favour. A Schnee was expected to be perfect, which is why she disappointed him so often.

He left her standing there, listening to the sound of his keyboard. She knew he was perfectly capable of carrying out a conversation whilst answering his emails. He often did two or more things than once, she was sure it was the only way he had managed to run the SDC almost single handed whilst Winter was growing up. Though the SDC had a board of directors, they were mainly for show; they did nothing without his express say so.

"Weiss sit," his voice was cold as it always had been at addressing her.

She shouldn't have expected more, but she had. It was the first time they had seen each other in almost a year, the first time they had seen each other since she had been shot. A normal father would have jumped up and hugged her, say how pleased they were to see her, tell her how much they missed her. But then a normal father would have come to visit their daughter as she lay dying in the hospital.

He still didn't look at her, even as she took her seat; he just left her sitting silently in his presence. Some of her nervousness was starting to be displaced by anger. He had kept her waiting over an hour to get in here, and now he was wasting even more of her time. Time she could have spent with Ruby.

"You wanted to see me," her words caused the clatter of keys to cease.

For the first time he father turned his gaze on her. His eyes were the hereditary blue but around the edges they faded into tempestuous grey. As Weiss stared into them she felt the familiar chill, there was no familial warmth, no love. They were cold and they were calculating.

It occurred to her now, as it should have done before, that in his actions he had been testing her. For what she wasn't sure, so it was impossible to tell how she had done. Would it have been better to burst in uninvited, or just left? Certainly Winter would not have let him waste an hour of her time, was he testing if she had become more like his favourite daughter? Or was he trying to ascertain if her time at Beacon had made her more rebellious? With him it was impossible to tell, and his expression gave nothing away.

He made a platform from his fingers in front of his chin and just stared. Weiss tried to keep her composure, but he was among the few people who could make her lose it, and as he continued to stare, she began to squirm. Her dress started to itch; it felt heavy across her shoulders, the straps of her heels dug furrows into her skin, and her posterior lost all feeling against the hard seat.

It was a relief, when after an age he spoke.

"It is time for you to forget your foolish desire to become a huntress."

Her mouth fell open; that was not what she expected this meeting to be about. Him asking about her health, what happened in Vale, she had prepared those answers. But not this, not again. Not when she had only just found out how much she needed Ruby, she wouldn't let anyone separate them. Not even him.

"I will not. You agreed to let me attend Beacon. Even when you sent Winter to place those stipulations on me. I still achieved them. I won every round of the tournament I fought in. I was top of my year. I will become a huntress; you have no right to take it from me." For Ruby she found the strength to oppose him.

"I have every right! You are my daughter. It is your duty to obey my will," he almost shouted, expression finally filling his face.

At his outburst, Weiss flinched away from him in her seat. She was one of the few people who could bring life the fires of anger within him. It was often the White Fang or something else that built them up and set up the fuse, but when he came home she was the one who lit it. Whether it was because she failed to answer one of his questions or just because she was not Winter, he would unleash his anger on her.

Those times, when he shouted until he was red in the face, where he lost control, was when she was scared of him. In that state he had even beat his own daughter bloody, just because she had admitted who she was to him.

Most would never see it though; it took her unique abilities to raise him to visible anger. At a dinner party when someone had been brave or naïve enough to subtly insult him as was the norm in Atlesian high society, he would smile and sip his wine, carrying on with the conversation, never rising to the bait.

They would think they had gained the best of him, not noticing the darkness behind his eyes and their life would carry on as usual. Then months, or even years down the line, their business ventures would begin to fail, their friends would begin to fall away, their banks would call in their loans, and they would be left homeless in the ruins of their once proud House. They were the lucky ones, the accident rate of those who got on Arian Schnee's bad side was disproportionately high.

"Yes I'm your daughter, the one you didn't even bother to visit in intensive care!" It had taken all of four sentences for her father to make her lose her cool. In his presence she was not the  _ice queen_ , his gaze melted whatever resolve she had tried to muster.

"Why would I?" It was so casually asked it, she couldn't form an answer.

"What?"

"What possible purpose would coming to visit you have served? I had access to your medical reports; there was high probability of your recovery. What good would my being there have done? It would not have made you recover faster and I have absolutely zero interest in socialising with your _friends,_ " he almost spat the word as though they should be below her. "I would only have been able to stare at your unconscious body and wait a socially acceptable amount of time, before I could get back to doing something important. That you are here proves my point."

He just didn't get it. Her father couldn't comprehend that had wanted him to visit not because of some logical reason, but because it would have showed he cared about her. That's what people did when they visited their loved ones; they sacrificed their time to say that the person they were visiting was more important than it. Her father had just confirmed what she had believed, she wasn't.

"Why am I here then?" Now she just wanted to get out of his presence as quickly as possible.

"You are here because I summoned you. That is the only reason. Why do you always seek to turn everything into a confrontation? It is a waste of my time, so I will give you the facts. Beacon is no more. Two of your team members have been conscripted and your supposed leader is too young even for that. I allowed you to attend Beacon because it was the most prestigious combat school on the planet. I will not allow you to attend a second rate one."

Weiss made to speak, but his voice rode over hers.

"Do not dare interrupt me! Though I disagreed with your desire to attend Beacon, I will admit some of your reasoning was valid. Both yours and Winter's actions in the fall of Vale, have allowed me to turn a completely disastrous scenario into a lesser one."

_Had her father just complimented her? That was almost unheard of._

"And everyone is aware that it was the SDC who made the evacuation of Vale possible. The numbers of applications to positions within the SDC has increased dramatically and people are buying our products not because they have to, but because they want to. The masses love a hero and at the moment we are it."

"That's why you should let me become a huntress. I'll keep on building up the good will." And she could stay with Ruby.

He shook his head, she visibly saw him reign in his anger at her impertinence. "How much do you know of what is happening in Vale?"

"Not much more than what's been on the news." Information from inside the White Fang controlled territory had been scarce, mainly because they had closed down Vale's CCT, cutting off almost all communications.

"The vermin spent a week consolidating their grip on the city, before they started moving against our facilities. The defences capable of withstanding Grimm attacks are simply no match for hundreds of Knights. I have ordered the demolition of every one of our facilities within a hundred miles of Vale; I will not allow them to fall into  _their_ hands."

That information had not been available on the news. It was colossal. If she recalled correctly that was close to two dozen mines, processing plants, and factories, just gone. The cost would be obscene.

"Beyond that they are still limited by their supply lines, but it likely won't be long before they can pursue their vendetta against us at an even further range, and that is not all. Since word of the attack of Vale got out, the number of our Faunus workers breaching their contracts has increased almost fiftyfold. Those who have been recaptured revealed they were encouraged by White Fang members. We are facing a major shortage of low level manpower which is heavily hindering our productivity.

"The White Fang attack has hurt us more than anyone else. We are haemorrhaging money and will continue to do so until we manage to redistribute our resources. That is what myself and Winter have been doing, but it will not be enough.

"The strength of our family has always had two foundations, wealth and power. We are losing the first but that will be fixed, the second is not so easily remedied. The vermin have caused us billions of liens of damages, seemingly without reply. They are stealing our workforce and killing out troops. The Faunus who work for us and the Houses who despise us, no longer regard us with fear.

"We cannot allow that to continue. I am no longer certain that there will be an invasion of Vale by the Atlesian military. The Council are stalling for a reason I cannot comprehend, and Draxler refuses to give me even a punitive date, despite the fact I put him on that chair. We will no longer wait for them.

"You have always insisted that I have treated you unfairly. I do not believe I have, you have always been excessively wilful and constantly refused to obey me, and yet in the time you have spent at Beacon I can sense that something about you has changed. Your actions against the vermin in Vale have proven that. It is time for you to stop being so stubborn and to start to live up to the name you bear. I am giving you full authority over our security forces."

For the second time Weiss' mouth fell open. This was one of the longest conversations she'd had with her father in years and was perhaps the second most important after the one which had convinced him to allow her to attend Beacon.

She hadn't realised the trouble her family was in. As much as she might disagree with her father about so many things, she was fiercely proud of being a Schnee. She had been worried about her father destroying their good name, but from what he had said, it was entirely possible that their name might just end. Completely.

Ironically it was her father's fault. If he hadn't treated the Faunus so badly all these years, the White Fang may very well have not existed, or at least they wouldn't be the focus for its ire. But they were, and he was entrusting their family's survival to her. His least favourite, imperfect daughter. It didn't make sense.

"Why?"

"Because above all you are a Schnee," he said that as though nothing else mattered. "You have proven yourself cool under pressure, and you are capable of commanding your troops in the field. I have heard about how you led those who were assigned to your wall, they respected you, and that was only after a very short time period, what could you do with more?

"I may very well have underestimated you. You may have the capability within you to not be a complete disappointment. You showed in the tournament you could inspire loyalty in the masses, and you received  _almost_ perfect marks within your tactics classes at Beacon. But this is the iron test, we will either rise from this stronger than ever, or we will fall. I am giving you the opportunity and the responsibility to be part of that. Do not let me down."

She had to be dreaming. Since her youngest memories, she had always desired praise from her father, but it had never come. Until today, it was double edged praise, but it still counted. It was the polar opposite of what she had expected while waiting, she thought she was being summoned to merely explain what had happened to her in Vale, not this.

"What will I be doing?" she asked.

His voice went cold. So terribly cold. Cold enough that it sent a shiver down her spine.

"I believe you are aware of our Special Forces, I did not wish to reveal them, but I concede to Winter's logic. They are public knowledge now and nothing can change it. You will oversee their deployment against any members of the White Fang who encroach on our territory. You will use them to hunt down those who breach their contracts with us. They believe the White Fang are the better alternative; the moment they run from our facilities they become enemy combatants. And you will treat them as such. Make examples of them, and make others who think of running, think again.

"We will no longer fight a proxy war against the White Fang. We have always struck back in secret, to keep the public onside. Their actions in Vale have turned all but their most ardent supporters against them. We no longer have to remain in the shadows.

"I am authorising you to expand our security forces until they rival any army in the world. We will have no shortage of volunteers. And if the Council refuse to invade Vale, we will do it by ourselves. We are no longer shackled by public opinion."

His next words were spoken with such conviction Weiss knew they would remain in her memory forever.

"I will not countenance the existence of the White Fang on this planet any longer. We will wipe them out, root and branch. We will remind everyone what happens to those whose oppose this family. What am I asking you to do? Make the Schnee name feared once more."

That had been almost two weeks ago, and since then she had been snowed under by work. There were a thousand things that were all crying out for her attention, and by the time she had dealt with them, another thousand had arisen.

The scale of the task she had been assigned was staggering. Armies are enormous, cumbersome beasts, and she had to start lay the foundations for one from scratch. Real estate, equipment, food, recruitment, relocations, the command structure, training exercises, the soldier's finances, the list went on and on.

There were dozens of people assigned to help her of course, but she was the one who had to read through and authorise every single proposal. The workload was obscene. If she only had a twelve hour day, she was happy. Sometimes she had even had to work through the night, grabbing a couple of hours of sleep when she collapsed onto her office couch.

It all meant she was neglecting Ruby. Her girlfriend needed her and she just didn't have the time to spare. She had managed to take a solitary evening off, and that had done so much to recharge both their batteries. They had laughed, they had kissed as they hadn't done since getting here, and both of them had even managed to sleep soundly. Sometime soon she was going to have to take a whole day off and pamper her girlfriend.

But when she would find the time she had no idea. Logistics and bureaucracy were things she could delegate, the other drain on her time she could not. She had to personally oversee every deployment of the Advanced Dust Research Group ̶ ̶ ADRG for short ̶ ̶ the SDCs clandestine Special Operations Force. When you were pouring millions of lien into a unit that wasn't meant to exist, you needed something at the end of the paper trail and the ADRG was it.

Their existence had never been confirmed to her before, though she had guessed. Someone had to be striking back at the White Fang, what she hadn't guessed was the ADRGs scope. They had more advanced technology than even the Atlesian military. Though that was mainly due to most of the Atlesian military's research being subcontracted to the SDC and any major breakthrough being withheld for their own use. Without a doubt the ADRG was the strongest unit on the planet.

It was they who had interrupted her talk with Ruby this morning. On a day she had been prepared to put off everything else, her phone had brought her news that simply couldn't wait. One of their major mining complexes had gone dark overnight. When the nearest aircraft had overflown it they found the facility burning, and the Faunus missing. The forty eight guards had either been slaughtered or presumably taken hostage.

She was currently waiting for more intelligence. But with that, the problems with Ruby, and the rest of the things on her plate, she really didn't have an idea as to the reason she was entertaining someone whose concerns seemed to be purely commercial. That was Winter's department, not hers. It was why she wasn't really paying attention and was instead looking for medical professionals. He finally seemed to realise, he was not as captivating as he supposed.

"Are you listening to me girl!" Brunire Amantea said angrily.

It was the wrong thing to say. She hated being condescended and she had been impotent for so long. She couldn't help Ruby, couldn't stop the White Fang, and she couldn't lessen her workload. Weiss Schnee was in a bad mood, she had a headache, both metaphorical and physical, and when a Schnee was in a bad mood, sane people run.

"You forget yourself and you forget who you are speaking to. I am the heiress to my House, you are the second born son of a minor family. You do not speak down to me." He blanched at her tone.

Ever since the ill-fated first encounter with Ruby she had tried her best to no longer flaunt her lineage, she had come to the realisation that it didn't matter all that much. Though below her, Brunire was important enough to gain her audience. He obviously revelled in flaunting his family name and the perks that came with it. The very way he sat was meant to show how wealthy he was, his sleeve riding up to reveal his watch. It was expensive but not all that impressive to someone who could buy the company that made it and barely notice the difference.

"Ms Schnee I meant no offence I wa ̶ ̶ " he began to stammer out an apology but she had no time for it.

"You have exactly sixty seconds to make your case, starting now."

"Umm… It's complicated and I can't possibly beg ̶ ̶ "

"Fifty seconds."

"The SDC was contracted to buy our product and has reneged on said contract. I currently have a warehouse full of units, that the SDC are legally required to buy and yet nothing has been transferred into our accounts. I'm here to ask that you authorise the payments."

Now with a concise picture of what he wanted, Weiss really didn't know why he was in her office, and for the first time she read past the first page of the file on his contract. It had already been annotated by their legal team. They had already purchased the units they were required to but had not desired to activate the optional clauses that would increase the size of their order.

"We have fulfilled the terms of the contract in full, you brought additional product on the assumption that we would purchase the increased quantity when we have no requirement to. Our legal team is certain there is nothing that says otherwise and unless your lawyer is a magician who can make clauses appear in a signed contract you have nothing to stand on," she copied the internal case number into the system which logged all the actions the SDC had taken and checked it. "Wait, you've already seen my sister."

"Yes she told me the same thing, but I thought you might be more understanding to my circumstances. Surely you can see it would be for the best for bo ̶ ̶ "

"Get out!"

"What?"

"You have just wasted twenty minutes of my time. Time that you cannot afford to repay. If you are not out of my office by the time I finish counting to ten, I will ensure that the SDC never does business with your family again. One. Two."

The taut lines of her face told him she was not bluffing. He quickly gathered up his things, and though he was too proud to run, he did walk quickly.

Weiss watched him leave with hands that were screwed up in anger and she fought the urge to scream. With so many things demanding her attention, to have someone try and con her just to make a profit was just one step too many.

It took perhaps five more precious minutes before she had managed to regain a state in which she could function. Deliberately calmly she buzzed her intercom. "Starling, can you come here?"

The office door swung open and her PA entered. Starling was twenty three, blonde, wearing clothes that were cheap, but would pass for something someone in her position would wear, was quite cute, and had only been in the job for two weeks. She hadn't even applied for it; her application had been for a placement as an assistant to someone about a hundred rungs down the corporate ladder. But when Weiss had been searching for an assistant, Starling's file had caught her eye.

The interview had gone well, despite Starling's nerves at meeting the Schnee heiress and her lack of experience, she had gotten the job. Of course the fact she was a single mother with a young daughter and had no close family might have had something to do with it.

"Starling, did you arrange the meeting with Mr Amantea?"

"Yes. I made sure the contract had been seen by legal and sent it to your computer, was there a problem?" Starling was intelligent and had caught onto her role quickly.

"Did you check the case status in our system?" Weiss already knew the answer. Red blossomed on Starling's cheeks. "If you had, you would have seen the case had already been marked as resolved by my sister and I wouldn't have had twenty minutes of my time wasted."

"I… I'm sorry Ms Schnee… I forgot. I… I promise it won't happen. If you'd just give me another chance. Please." Starling had broken down under her gaze. For someone who had always struggled for money since becoming a mother, the surprise job, childcare, and salary that had fallen into her lap was a dream come true, and something she couldn't afford to lose.

Weiss let her squirm for a moment. It was cruel, but effective. Starling would remember this for a long time. Normally she tried to get Starling to call her by her first name, but when being reprimanded it simply wasn't appropriate.

"I know it won't." Weiss put her out of her misery. "Now I need you to go and see if my sister is in her office and available for a quick meeting."

Starling jumped at the chance to make up for her mistake. Brunire had taken up enough of her time, she wanted to work out how to help Ruby while she had a brief respite and asking Winter was the quickest way to go about it.

As luck would have it, Winter was free to meet her and Weiss made the short walk to her office. It was on the opposite side of the floor from hers and on the second highest office floor in the building. The highest was reserved for her father's.

The office itself could have been a mirror copy, the same white and glass furniture, the same layout, the only difference being the side of Atlas it had a panoramic view of. Winter's door was open and Weiss walked straight in, locking eyes with her sister.

Winter looked just as stunning as she always did and her perfect lips lifted in a smirk that was all too familiar.

"Weiss you look lovely today. Is that a new brand of foundation?" Winter said in a voice with just the slightest hint of mockery.

She didn't rise to the bait, instead closing the door, sitting in the chair opposite Winter and staring at her sister icily. Winter always enjoyed playing the games of high society and she was far too good at them.

It was the perfect compliment. It contained just enough sting to inform everyone around it was anything but, and would even draw the eye to the embarrassment. She was sure Winter did it almost unconsciously, but that didn't make it any less annoying. She  _was_  wearing too much foundation; she'd had to cover up the bruise Ruby had given her.

In a social situation the only response would have been to answer in kind. But how could anyone criticise Winter's appearance and be taken seriously. It was a game that she always won. But Weiss didn't have to abide by etiquette, so she just continued to stare. A year ago the subtle insults had hurt her, but after Vale, there were worse things than words.

Winter broke first. "I'm sorry that was uncalled for." She had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed.

"It was."

"I've been buried up to my neck in reports all morning, you're a welcome distraction."

"I just had a very interesting meeting with Brunire Amantea, who seemed to believe that he could renegotiate his contract with me." Winter's features had contracted into a scowl as she spoke, what Brunire had tried to do was a major breach of protocol.

"Did he really, I think I'll have to have a word with him." Weiss would have loved to listen in on that phone call. That he had tried to circumvent Winter's authority would not have put him in her good books, but he deserved to be there.

"I thought you'd like to know. Now I have a favour to ask. I need the number of a good psychiatrist." Winter raised a questioning, perfectly groomed eyebrow at her. "It's not for me, it's for Ruby. She hasn't been dealing with Vale all that well, she's had trouble sleeping."

"That's perhaps to be expected for someone so young. I take it she won't talk to you?"

That statement annoyed her. Ruby was young, but that didn't have any bearing on why she couldn't sleep. Anyone who had to go through what Ruby had gone through would be struggling to deal with it. Weiss knew she would probably be having nightmares, if she wasn't so exhausted before her mind finally ceased thinking about all the things she still needed to do, and allowed her to drift off.

"No, I think she feels embarrassed." Weiss looked at the floor, it hurt that Ruby wouldn't talk to her. "I thought she might be able to talk to someone she doesn't know."

"It might be for the better, if she's having that much trouble. I know one who's popular among my  _friends_. She's meant to be rather good. Let me try and find her… A Doctor Samson. I presume Ruby would feel more comfortable with a female doctor?"

Weiss doubted Winter actually had any friends. Friends were people who you thought your equal and Winter was a Schnee. The only people in her opinion who were close to her equal, was her sister and her father. But saying that Winter had never seemed lonely, like her father, she probably thought the simple act of companionship was beneath her. Although Winter was making an effort to be friendly to her.

"Yes she probably would, could you send me her details, and Winter thank you. I've been trying to find someone all morning. Now as you said, paperwork awaits." Weiss got up to leave before Winter stopped her.

"Have you picked up a dress for the next ball yet?" A musical laugh rang out at the grimace that appeared on her face. "You'll enjoy it."

That was another drain on her time. Each of the Atlesian Houses liked to show off by hosting an extravagant ball, and they would invite both their allies and rivals. They happened like clockwork every fortnight, and she had always hated them.

They were just so fake. No one who attended actually liked each other, but were just looking to stab their  _friends_  in the back. Every comment was double edged and every action would be evaluated and catalogued. Winter on the other hand loved playing the game.

The Schnees didn't usually host balls, except on very special occasions. There was no need when they were irrefutably the most powerful House around. But when they did decide to show off, it was talked about for years.

But the balls also functioned as the places that the majority of trade agreements and underhand deals between the people who ran Atlas were fostered. Normally those deals were beneath them, but with the troubles the White Fang had foisted upon them, they could only help. So her father had decreed that she should start attending with Winter. Another evening she couldn't spend with Ruby, but she refused expose her to such a vile environment.

"I haven't had the time yet, I'll have to get Starling to find me a window." Weiss said, she was not looking forward to it.

"I'm sure you'll look beautiful no matter what you pick. You've really grown in the last year, it shows." Weiss searched for the subtle insult and was surprised to find none. Winter actually sounded genuine. A warmth spread through her chest,  _was this how families were meant to make you feel?_

"Thanks," she said uncertainly with a shaky smile. Unexpected kindness was much harder to deal with than scorn. "Now I really have to get back to work."

She'd only managed to set one expensive heel back into the reception area in front of her office, when Starling demanded her attention.

"Ms Schnee, Lord Wache is on the line, he said it was urgent."

"Thank you, see that I am not disturbed." Weiss entered her office and shut the door.

It was always strange hearing Erashan referred to by his title, but he was technically a lord, though he never mentioned it. In reality he was a lord in title only. His family's holdings were tiny, they had been larger once, but over the generations they had been steadily absorbed by her own House.

That was what the Waches had got for generations of loyal service to their liege lords. Every time they had a bad harvest, or suffered a Grimm attack, the Lord Schnee would be only too happy to help them out for just a small tithe.

Erashan's family had been left with a singular estate and that was about it. He wasn't rich and would likely never be. If it rankled for someone with his title and bloodline to be a bodyguard or a tutor, he never showed it.

She had assumed that was all he did for their family. It was only when she had been given access to the files on ADRG that she had found out he had been in command of the unit for almost all the time they had known each other. It made sense; he had often disappeared for weeks on end with no explanation, despite her prying questions.

Her father had demoted him after Vale, presumably in response to his failure in his duty to protect her. Erashan had fully maintained he deserved every punishment he received and it had taken many conversations to persuade him to reclaim his old position. He just hadn't believed there was nothing he could have done to prevent her from getting shot. But if she was in control of ADRG, she wanted him to be the person she communicated through. It had also been a subtle test to see if she really had control over ADRG and so far her father hadn't contested her decision.

Weiss sat at her desk, picked up her phone and immediately hung up, before reaching for her mobile. Its signal was encrypted twice and was the usual way she communicated with her old mentor.

"Erashan what have you found?"

"We've located a large group, around forty clicks away from the facility." His voice was deadly serious, though quiet as if he was trying not to be overheard. He was a commander who led from the front and would do anything he asked the men and women under him to do. He was likely in a foxhole overlooking the White Fang now.

"How many are there?"

"One hundred and sixty three, at last count."

"Are they armed?"

"Yes, and there are a dozen White Fang regulars with them."

Weiss tried to think of another way, but if she waited they would end up passing deep into White Fang controlled territory.  _They're enemy combatants,_ she told herself,  _they killed all the guards, they aren't just Faunus we enslaved running for freedom. There won't be old men, teenagers with them._

She had no problem with the deaths of members of the White Fang, she had sent several on that path herself, and held no remorse for them. But this was different; they weren't members of the White Fang… yet.

"Are you there in sufficient strength?"

"Yes."

 _Make examples of them_  her father had said. They had killed. They would only get worse. They would turn into the vermin who had attacked Vale. The ones who killed Jaune, killed Sun, killed the rest of her friends who hadn't made it. Her stomach churned as she thought about what she was trying to justify.

In time they would be just like the ones who were responsible for the deaths of Lyra… and Amber.

In that moment, she held more power than politicians and kings. She made her decision.

"Take them out," she hung up before she could change her mind and placed her mobile down carefully.

 _Take them out_ , such simple words. Such large consequences. As she sat in her modern office on top of the world, she splayed her fingers on her glass desk and pushed down hard, no longer caring about the smudges.

In her mind, she could almost hear them scream.

 


	3. Chapter 3

"Hurry the fuck up," Yang swore under her breath as the line inched forward. "What?" She stared down the woman in front of her who had turned round at her outburst.

The woman glared at her, taking in her shabby appearance with a disapproving sneer and turned away, shaking her head.

 _What the fuck was her problem?_  Half the natives of Atlas were so stuck up. She'd thought Weiss had been bad when they'd first met, but at least she had some justification. Weiss was actually descended from the Atlesian royal line; the woman in front of her probably had a great grandfather whose uncle was the brother to a Lord. That was apparently more than enough, in her opinion, to make her a noble and give her the right to look down at everyone else. It made her glad Vale's class system had died out hundreds of years ago.

To be fair it wasn't half. Most people didn't have any illusions about their grandeur. They just worked normal jobs, and had a good time. The problem was she was staying in a five star hotel at Weiss' expense. The area was not one where  _normal_ people could afford to hang round. No, everyone around here was at least pretending to be rich, and in her sweatpants and tank top she stuck out like a sore thumb.

She would have even if she'd made the effort to be better dressed. Her colouring and accent just screamed she was from Vale. That would have been enough to earn their disdain. Of course on the surface everyone was incredibly sympathetic to the plight of the refugees. It just shouldn't have been their taxes who were paying for them. Surely they should be distributed evenly around other countries, or as the even more radical suggested, forcibly sent back to Vale.

Luckily those morons were rightly denounced, although there still didn't seem to be a long term solution. At the moment they'd been spread around all Atlas' major cities, but most of the refugees were relying on charity. Unless they had accounts with banks outside of Vale, they simply didn't have access to any funds. Weiss had provided for her of course, but so many didn't have the luxury of having a multi-millionaire friend.

"Come on!" Yang moaned, earning more glares from all around.

It's not like she said anything that no one else was thinking. The old bat at the checkout was counting out every single coin from her purse. She'd been there for five minutes already.

The laminated floor squeaked under her boots as she rocked impatiently from side to side. It was getting ridiculous, couldn't the staff see there were people waiting? Why didn't they open up another till?

People from Atlas were meant to be overly efficient, look at Weiss. But here she was, still waiting in line. It's not like she wanted anything difficult. She was in this shitty store for one fucking reason, to exchange money for goods, was that too much to ask? If she wasn't second in line she would have walked out and bought a drink somewhere else.

At the moment she longed to crack open the bottle in her hand, but it had one of those annoying security tags on the top. She could break it open of course, it might even be fun to have something interesting happen, but it was one of the closest stores to the hotel and she didn't particularly fancy being banned. The staff probably knew her by now, she was a regular after all.

"Fucking finally," she resisted the urge to clap sarcastically as the old woman finally started heading to the exit.

The last few weeks had been harder than she would ever have imagined, even ignoring all the fucked up shit that had occurred in Vale. It had started out bad, being left on the Bullhead and watching the SDC craft Ruby and Weiss had been on rapidly vanish into the distance.

At the time it Weiss' condition had looked bad, but there hadn't been room of the aircraft for the rest of them. No, they'd had to stay behind and hope with absolutely no news to relieve them.

The Bullhead they were in, the one which had been stained with Weiss' blood, and the remaining SDC aircraft, had not flown to Atlas, but had instead rendezvoused with the freighters. To be able to evacuate everyone from Vale, they'd had to cram people on. The conditions simply hadn't been suitable for any long flight; there would have been deaths from heat exhaustion.

So the freighters had landed at a SDC facility about an hour outside of Vale and had disgorged their cargo. The hope was that it would have been far enough that the White Fang wouldn't have bothered pursuing them, but no one had been sure to the realities behind the terrorists' motivations.

All the people who had done so much to defend Beacon, had immediately had to set about fortifying their new position in case they were attacked. She and Blake were no exception and were put to work. After fighting almost nonstop for the previous thirty six hours, digging earthen ramparts had been back-breaking. But it was better to have them and not need them, rather than need them and not have them.

They'd had to hold their positions for nearly a week, which was the time it had taken for the freighters to make enough trips to shuttle an entire population to another continent. A week where they hadn't known if Weiss was still alive. To not know if you would ever see your friend again was exquisite torture. They had already lost so many she couldn't bear to think about losing another.

Ignoring the emotional torment it had been hard, but not overly dangerous. Luckily the White Fang hadn't attacked them, there'd been the occasional Grimm, but they'd probably wiped out most of the Grimm for a hundred miles around back in Vale.

The hardest part had been the food, or rather the lack of it. There simply hadn't been enough in Beacon to feed the entire population, and everyone had been placed on restricted rations. It was not ideal for recovering huntresses. Auras took an awful lot of energy to replenish normally and even more when they had to heal a myriad of wounds. She'd never known just how exquisite a cereal bar could taste until it had been the only thing she'd had to eat for the entire day.

Blake had been worse off, her partner had been recovering from far more serious injuries than most, and though she was too proud to admit it, it had been clear she'd been suffering. But no matter how hard she tried to persuade her, Blake wouldn't accept her donated food.

It had gotten better after a few days. Another SDC freighter had brought tonnes of food when it had returned for more civilians and one of the black clad troops, who still went about without revealing their identity, had even informed them that Weiss had had a successful operation, and though she was still critical, it was believed the most dangerous time had passed.

With that worry partially alleviated and with food plentiful, their guard duty had dissolved into boring tedium. Staring out across the expanse of cleared ground and into the thick forest in all directions, there was little else to do than think. Think about everything that had happened. To try and process everything they had seen. It had been then she had started to have nightmares.

Thankfully she couldn't remember what images her mind conjured to torment her, all she knew was she woke sweating and panicked. Sometimes she'd even activated her Semblance in her sleep, something that hadn't happened for years. Not since the first few months after she'd Snapped. For most it probably wouldn't have been a major problem, for her it was. Growing up she'd set fire to a dozen sets of sheets before she'd got control of it. That she had now lost it was disturbing.

Activating her Semblance was a defensive gesture, she did it when in she was in more trouble than she could handle. Her dreams apparently made her feel like that. If there was anything she hated in the world, it was the feeling of being helpless.

She was a huntress. She'd managed to gain admittance into the best combat school on the planet, she'd killed hundreds of Grimm, but she was powerless.

Powerless to stop Vale falling, to stop all those people dying. She couldn't even lie to herself and say in time she would stop feeling so vulnerable. No matter how hard she trained, how much experience she gained, she wouldn't be able to touch Ozpin, or that woman.

They existed on a level far above her, or anyone else. Even if she became the best huntress in the world, the moment those two entered the field, she would be but a child again. That terrified and pissed her off in equal measure.

The first time her Semblance had got away from her, a blanket hadn't been the victim; they didn't have enough of them and she could do without. Instead she had sent Blake scampering away from her, flames licking at her clothes.

How her partner was coping was another thing that was bothering her. Blake was always quiet, but in the days after Vale she had been close to silent. It was sort of scary, to see her staring off into the distance, completely lost in her own thoughts.

It hadn't got better since they got to Atlas. They had rooms on the same floor, but Blake was hardly ever in hers. She often disappeared for days at a time with zero explanation.

They had been so close at Beacon, she'd thought Blake had learned to talk to them when in trouble. But just like when her White Fang connections had first been revealed, her response to adversary was to run. For all her efforts she couldn't pin Blake down long enough to talk.

It also meant that Blake was unable to help her. Blake was the only person in the world who she felt entirely comfortable admitting her failings to. Blake never judged her, never told her how it was her fault, she just listened and made it all better.

Yang missed her friend, her confidante. She could have talked to Ruby, but it had never felt right burdening her younger sister, especially not now when Ruby had so much on her own plate. With Weiss' injury and her own grief, she didn't need her older sister's problems as well.

Weiss wasn't really an option either. Though they were friends, they had never been all that close. Plus Weiss was working almost all the time anyway, so much so that they'd barely spoken in the last week, just a quick greeting and a goodbye when Weiss had returned to her penthouse. Yang didn't want to be the third wheel in the scant quality time Ruby and Weiss got to spend together.

No, she was alone. For a lot of the days and almost all the nights. Alone apart from the only thing that alleviated her worries. In the numbing embrace of alcohol, she didn't dream, didn't almost burn the hotel down. It was the only comfort she had.

"Finally," Yang said as the till in front of her finally became free.

Of course the people who actually worked in the shop were like her. They weren't descended from nobility, or if they were and were down on their luck enough to be working in a shop, they realised who their great, great, grandfather was didn't matter.

The cashier smiled at her, a smile he probably didn't give to every customer. He wasn't bad looking, probably right in the middle of the scale. The store's uniform wasn't all that flattering, but he managed to wear it well and he obviously took good care of his hair, it was styled into a very intricate pattern at the front. It was more than could be said for her, as she absentmindedly ran her fingers through her mane. This morning she just hadn't felt like spending half an hour wrestling with it.

It had been obvious he'd like to get to know her a little better for quite a few days now. Whenever she came in and he wasn't stuck behind a till, he was only too happy to offer her any assistance he could. It was rather flattering; to see the way his cheeks flushed whenever their eyes met and at least temporarily it made her feel better about herself. He was cute enough, that another time she might have taken him up on his offer of  _coffee_  and blown his world, but at the moment it would just be too complicated.

Still, he didn't judge her for her appearance, so that was a big plus in his favour. She knew he probably found her mysterious. The apparently rich, attractive, but also, judging by her clothes, troubled girl. A girl with a hint of danger, the first few times she had come in with the bandage on her thigh and several bruises still visible. It wasn't hard to see why he was enthralled.

But today all she wanted from him was to take the security tag off the bottle of whiskey in her hand. Her curt answers to his questions were enough to tell him she didn't want to talk and after that he just went about his work as quickly as possible. Yang threw some notes on the counter and walked away without a receipt. It was definitely more that the cost of the bottle, even if it was expensive, but Weiss wouldn't care, and maybe he would pocket the extra notes and find someone else. Someone who might actually be able to return his affection.

Her boots crunched onto fresh snow as she stepped out into the chilly air. Of course it was snowing, it always was in Atlas. Why anyone would choose to live here was a question she continued to ask herself. Once or twice a year snow was exciting, everyday it was drudgery. The sun barely broke through the grey clouds in the day and night always seemed to fall unnaturally quickly.

There were hundreds of other people on the sidewalk. All with their heads down, shoulders hunched in their coats against the chill, rushing quickly as they went about their stressful lives. They brushed either side of her as they squeezed past and she knew it would be impossible for her to stand out any more.

No one else was wearing a tank top in the middle of the near blizzard, no one else was standing still, and certainly no one else was drinking from a bottle this early in the evening. The whiskey burned pleasantly on the way down. For a moment as the fire tore at her throat, she was able to forget just how shit her life was.

But like always it was over too soon. Even the buzz of the alcohol was muted as her Aura sought to combat the poisons she was pouring into her body. That was by far the most annoying thing about Auras; they sped up her body's natural metabolism of the alcohol until it was actually difficult to get drunk. Not that she had ever let that stop her, it just took a lot more effort and a lot more money. Thanks to Weiss she had the last in spades.

The brand of whiskey was one of her favourites, though she had only discovered it recently, mainly due to its price. The normal type of store she went to in Vale hadn't stocked brands as expensive as this one was on their shelves. The smooth blend of nuts, honey, and spices was unlike almost anything she had drunk before. But no matter much it caressed her tongue, it couldn't replace her friends.

Yang took the bottle from her mouth and started walking, her boots sweeping aside the grey slush that had built up. It was truly a miserable evening, but it seemed to her that too many in Atlas were. A constant stream of cars and trucks rushed past on the road, the air displaced by them sending swirls of flakes into her eyes.

The hotel was a few blocks away and she could just about make it out through the snow. It wasn't hard to find, it was one of the tallest buildings in Atlas, only a few office buildings, the CCT, and the towering Eiszapfen were taller.

With the wind picking up and sending her hair whipping over her bare shoulders, Yang ducked into a sheltered alleyway. It was calmer here and no commuters hurrying to get home from work bumped into her as she took another mouthful.

It was actually quicker cutting through the alleyways anyway, there was a fence to scale, but of course that was no problem for her. Yang was just about to lock her fingers into the cold metal when the crunch of footsteps reached her ears.

"Do as we say and no one's going to get hurt! Throw your purse on the ground." The voice was gruff and sounded as if it was being dragged across gravel.

Yang dropped her bottle into a pile of snow, thankful that it didn't break, and turned around slowly. There were two of them, both wearing heavy, dark coats, and their faces were gaunt and haggard. Memories of being similarly accosted in dark alleyways back on Patch flitted to her mind and for the first time today she smiled. She was no longer a young girl with flowers on her backpack, and even then she had proved too much for them.

The two men obviously didn't recognise they were attempting to rob a huntress and she had to admit in her shabby clothes really didn't pertain her to being one. They hadn't even bothered to pull out weapons. One was a head taller than her and slim, the one who had spoken was about her height, but much wider, either muscle or fat in the gloom she couldn't tell.

They saw her as a slender girl, one who obviously wasn't from around here and apparently drunk enough to be walking around in the middle of a snow storm in a tank top. She was the perfect score; they had probably been tailing her for a while and had counted their blessings when she had stepped off the street. Lost or needing to go to the toilet most likely.

"Come on hurry up, don't make us hurt you!" Gruff said again.

Yang sized them up. Though they both had more weight they obviously had no idea how to use it properly. They were standing with their feet square beneath their shoulders, if she were to rush them she would likely be able to bowl them over before they could brace themselves. But running was the last thing on her mind.

It had been too long since she'd had the release of a good fight, or even a spar. It had always been her way of coping with frustration and there just wasn't the opportunity around here. At Beacon even if no one wanted to spar which was a rarity ̶ ̶ there was always someone training in the gym ̶ ̶ she had been able to slip away into the Emerald Forest. Here though in Atlas, there just weren't any Grimm. Better for the civilians but worse for her.

Going after criminals wasn't really an option anymore. As a little girl she had left them in hospital, now as a huntress it was possible she'd accidentally kill them. It was just too risky her punching someone, when she wasn't sure if their Auras were activated and their strength. A misjudged strike could easily cave in a rib cage or skull of someone without protection and when there was normally copious amounts of alcohol in her system, it was too much of a risk.

But these two had jumped her, they expected a helpless girl, well, they wouldn't find one. Yang felt herself slipping into the emptiness of mind that always precluded the start of combat. As soon as the first blows begun to land, fire would seep into her blood, but in the infinite stretch of time, the thoughts of consequences slipped away from her.

They didn't have any weapons out, but they could have been concealing almost anything beneath their large coats. Her two would be muggers exchanged a glance at her apparent lack of fear, perhaps deciding she was too drunk to fully comprehend her situation.

Through the gap in his coat, Yang could see a bulge in Gruff's pants. Her smile became toothy.

"Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" She almost laughed, she'd always wanted to use that line, but the opportunity was much rarer than one would think.

They exchanged looks again, this time much more confused and now somewhat concerned. Slim's hand was wrapped around something shielded by his coat. By the position of his arm and wrist she guessed what it was.

"And if that hand comes out holding a knife, I'll make you eat it!" Yang growled, stoking the fires of her anger. It pissed her off that they would seek to attack a helpless girl, maybe even knock her around to get what they wanted. They'd even brought weapons; that showed they weren't just posturing. She didn't have hers, she hadn't thought she'd need them for a quick trip to the shop, and in truth she still didn't.

Yang took a step towards them, her brows furling darkly. Slim ripped his knife out, it was an ugly thing. The blade was worn and burnished and it was jagged, with lots of serrated edges. A wound from that would be a nightmare to try and stitch. It was a weapon you used when you wanted the other person to bleed out slowly. It was not just a kitchen knife, but one designed to kill. Gruff went for his gun. The tinder in her blood caught.

They both backed away from her, stumbling through the piled snow, Gruff's arm frozen halfway on its journey. Slim's knife hand was shaking and he breathed a word that haunted criminals all over the world.

"Huntress."

He didn't wait for his comrade but turned and ran as fast as his long legs would carry him. Gruff joined him a moment later, kicking snow into the air as he sought to escape. Yang stood stock still then drew in a deep breath. It didn't help.

"Fuck!" Yang screamed into the night, turning and slamming her fist into the wall next to her. Her Aura instinctively flared protecting her knuckles and the rage filled punch dented the cinderblock sending cracks spidering outwards.

She knew she could have chased at least Gruff down, but then what, beat him to death? The anger continued to surge through her bloodstream and her hands trembled. She craved its violent release. Yang stood frozen in the middle of the alleyway, any snow landing on her exposed skin instantly vaporising, and tried to calm herself down.

It was hard. She wanted nothing more than to release the fires within her, but there was no target for her anger and frustration. She slammed her fist into the wall again, sending more cracks shooting out. Yang pressed her forehead against the cold wall and screwed up her eyes.

It was several minutes before her blood lust began to fade. That was just another thing that Vale had gifted her. She knew she had always been quick to anger, even when amongst her friends the wrong topic of conversation could be enough to make them take a nervous step away from her, but most of the time it had been just anger. There hadn't been the absolute need to feel something give way beneath her fists, for her to pound something, to destroy it. Now there was, and she knew if the two muggers who had accosted her had instead been members of the White Fang, their lifeblood would be staining the snow.

Yang took a heavy step towards her bottle and took a large swig. The alcohol helped, as it always did these days. She breathed in and out slowly the crisp, cold air filling her lungs. Feeling more like herself again Yang started back towards the hotel.

The bottle fit through a larger gap at the bottom of the fence and she hauled herself to the top. It was over a dozen feet high and without footholds, only the strength in her arms, gained through hours of gruelling work in the gym, allowed her to scale it. The strain of her muscles improved her mood as it always did and dropping to the ground she picked up the whiskey again.

The doorman actually moved to stop her as she climbed the steps at the front of the hotel. It was unsurprising. What had meant to be a quick ten minute trip to the store had turned into her standing in a snowstorm for what must have been half an hour. Her white tank top was plastered to her body and was almost transparent, she was suddenly glad she'd bothered to wear a bra. Her sweatpants weren't any better off; they were sodden with moisture and hanging heavily from her hips.

All in all, she did not look like the sort of person who had any business hanging around a five star hotel, let alone trying to gain entrance. The doorman probably thought her a beggar. His was an odd position, he was stuck up enough to think himself better than all the people he judged not worthy to enter, but also had to grovel to everyone that stayed there. Well almost everyone.

As soon as she stepped through the revolving door, he was right there to block her.

"Why don't you just turn round and ke ̶ ̶ "

His pompous denial cut off and he blanched as their eyes met. He hadn't been on duty when she'd left and she certainly didn't look like she belonged here, but all the staff knew that a tall blonde was the personal guest of Ms Schnee.

"My most sincere apologies, please forgive me I di ̶ ̶ "

Yang brushed past him, water dripping onto the polished white floor. If her apparent snubbing of his apology caused him a sleepless night, good. If it had been someone else who had turned up in the middle of snowstorm and completely drenched, then they would undoubtedly needed help. And yet he would have been only too happy to turn her away to preserve the sanctity of the hotel. It sickened her; people should help others no matter what.

She received even more disapproving stares here than she had at the store. There, most of the clientele had believed they were nobility. All those around her actually were, or they were at least horrendously rich and well on their way to becoming it.

In her wet clothes, she stood out like a sore thumb. Most of the women averted their fragile gazes from her clearly visible bra, but several of the men didn't. Sick old men who thought just because they had money she would only be too happy to fall into their bed. It wasn't really their fault; too many people in the world were willing to, not her though.

One man in a dark suit and with grey hair even went far enough to step in front of her. Yang raised her head and glared at him. The word about who she was friends with must have got round amongst the guests or her glare was harsher than she thought as he flinched before quickly turning and walking away.

The teenager staffing the elevator was stunned into silence when she entered. Like all the staff at the hotel he was attractive, or would at least grow to be. The rich and beautiful people who were customers here didn't want to have their day ruined by being forced to look upon someone who was less than perfect.

But he was probably about seventeen at the oldest and as far as he was concerned she was almost naked. No amount of training could overcome pubescent hormones. His eyes were drawn into the curving plunge between her breasts and his mouth was hanging open. It was a reaction she was all too used to. Sometimes she enjoyed to leave someone speechless, today she just wasn't in the mood.

"My eyes are up here," she said harshly.

He jumped at her tone and quickly looked up. But when their gazes locked he tried to take a step back despite already being near the wall and his body pressed against the polished wood. Yang guessed his career prospects probably wouldn't be enhanced if perving on the friend of Ms Schnee was added to his file.

"Uhh… Can I have your room key please?" His voice quivered.

She handed it over, security was paramount, and you needed both your keycard and the attendants to make the lifts work. It was barely noticeable when the lift stirred into motion, only the slightest lurch of her stomach hinted at their movement.

Her rooms were near the top, not quite as high as Weiss' or the other giant apartments but if the lift wasn't of a high speed variety it would have taken a significant time to get to her floor. And unless she missed her workout, the stairs were simply out of the question. The attendant kept shooting nervous glances at her as they ascended.

She stepped from the elevator and onto plush carpet. Her clothes were still dripping water, but there would be someone along to clean up before too long. The staff here actually operated with the fabled Atlesian efficiency. It had taken about a dozen steps in the lobby for someone with a mop to start trailing her.

Blake's room was undoubtedly empty and she didn't bother knocking. Hers was three doors further down. The lock clicked smoothly as she neared and the room brightened automatically at her presence. Yang chucked her wallet onto the table and threw herself onto the sofa. What was meant to be a quick shopping trip had turned into an ordeal. But she had returned with her bounty.

Yang took a long swig and looked round. Weiss certainly had not skimped on cost when putting her friends up. Not that Weiss understood what that phrase meant. Even though it was nowhere near as nice as her penthouse suite, it still had a large sitting room with a kitchenette, in addition to the bedroom and en-suite.

Like most as a child she had always imagined what it would be like to be obscenely rich. This room probably cost per night what a normal family would spend on rent a week. It didn't thrill her as she always though it would. She would have been much happier camping on the hard ground in the middle of the Emerald forest if her friends had been with her.

Despite being surrounded by Grimm their team missions had always been so much fun. With Weiss trying to boss them around but at the same time being wholly unaware of some of the useful survival tips that weren't present in the textbooks but were acquired through growing up near forests. Late at night, with the fractured moon in the sky and a fire roaring, Yang would normally do exactly what Weiss told her not to and start telling scary stories.

Knowing that red eyes could appear all around them at any moment helped increase the tension, even if they weren't a real threat. Almost all the Grimm, like most animals, shied away from fire. That was supposedly the only way people had survived thousands of years ago before the discovery of Dust.

Her stories were good; they normally had Ruby and Weiss looking around nervously at every crack of a twig. Weiss was particularly fun to play with, undoubtedly the idea of trying to scare your friends was new to her, and though she always started off with unconcerned boredom it was clearly a front that soon cracked.

Her stories were good, but Blake's sometimes scared even her. Her partner must have read a lot of obscure books, or at least that was what Yang hoped. Otherwise she had a really disturbing imagination. Her tone was always perfect, deeper than normal, and she sat just out of the firelight until only her silhouette and bright eyes were visible.

Though Yang's stories caused Weiss and Ruby to twitch nervously, it was Blake's that sent them into each other's arms. Of course Weiss always protested calling Ruby a dolt for being so scared, but she didn't let go either. Yang was sure that was the only reason Blake terrified them so much, even then, they were so cute together.

A shiver racked Yang's form and brought her out of her blissful remembrance of better times. She may even have drifted off for a time. Her fingers were numb; her Semblance gave her resistance to the cold, not immunity to it. Though she could walk around quite happily in shorts when others were wearing coats, her soaked clothes were leeching the heat from her skin.

"Idiot," Yang murmured to herself.

The clever thing to do would have been to change as soon as she got back. No, the clever thing to do would have been to go out wearing more than a tank top. Yang took another swig of whiskey to warm up and was somewhat annoyed that by the fact the bottle was already half empty.

It had meant to have lasted her all night, but at this rate it wouldn't last an hour. She should have picked up more than one. It was possible to order it from room service of course, but then Weiss would be able to see it on the bill and she would try and help her, when in reality no one could.

Still, her head had finally started to feel light, the alcohol overwhelming her aura and the comforting buzz returned. It was never truly absent these days, just dimmed. In one corner of her mind she noted that the vasodilatory properties of alcohol probably didn't help her body retain its heat.

Moisture had pooled on the leather couch beneath her prostrate form and Yang peeled herself from it. As she stood her head spun forcing her to grab the armrest. Even for a huntress, she had consumed an awful lot of alcohol in a very short space of time.

Her boots squelched on the carpet and she half sat, half fell into a chair before she pulled them off. Her socks were damp and her feet were frozen.

"Fuck," Yang swore under her breath as she massaged them, only stopping when pins began to drive themselves into her flesh. It was basic knowledge not to sit around in wet clothes and she was messing even that up.

Her bare feet padded into the bedroom. It was large, probably two or three times the size of their room at Beacon and about a thousand times less welcoming. The tiles of the bathroom were warm and Yang's eyes caught her reflection.

She wished she hadn't, her earlier assessment of her appearance had been correct. The closest she comparison she could think of was a drowned rat. Her hair was hanging in a limp curtain, not vibrant yellow in colour but dirty blonde. Her top was entirely transparent, sticking to her body it exposed every smooth curve. It was no wonder the doorman hadn't wanted to let her in.

But that was not what concerned her most. The eyes that stared back at her were blood red. All the reactions she had received suddenly made sense. From the doorman, to the guest who had tried accosting her, to the elevator attendant. They hadn't been scared because of who her friend was, they had been terrified because meeting her eyes was like looking into the eyes of one of the Grimm. No wonder the boy had kept himself pressed against the wall for the entire ascent.

She'd guessed her eyes changing colour was what scared the muggers away, but they always changed back to lilac as soon as her anger faded. Not since she had first Snapped had they remained red.

Her Semblance seemed to be taking on a mind of its own. She had almost completely lost control of it.  _What was happening to her?_

Futilely she tried to force her eyes to change back, she tried to tell herself she wasn't angry, but it was a lie. She was furious with the White Fang who had killed so many, she was angry at herself for not being able to save them, she was pissed off at Blake for abandoning her, she was jealous of Ruby and Weiss because they had each other, and she irate with her dad for being such a stubborn idiot.

Rather than come to Atlas and the safety it represented, both he and her uncle had resolved to stay on Patch even though it was only a matter of time before the White Fang moved to gain control of the island. They both said that if the occupation was too bad, they could easily fade into the forests and live off the land. She knew the real reason they were staying was to try and protect the people who were unable to leave. It didn't make it easier. Though the boat that carried her good relationship with her dad and Qrow had sunk a long time ago, she knew having them close by would have helped Ruby. Her dad was once again neglecting his daughter.

How could she persuade herself she wasn't angry, when she was absolutely incensed with the entire fucked up world? The burning red eyes were only the outward signs of all that was warring within her.

Abandoning her effort to somehow calm herself as futile, she stripped off her sodden clothes and stepped into the shower. It was almost painful at first as the hot water seared her chilled extremities, but after the first few moments the scalding heat began to sink into her.

Sighing as some of the tension that had been present in her muscles ever since she was accosted began to seep out of her, Yang pressed her forehead to the wall and let the deluge pour down her back.

She hated this. She hated her life and what it had become. Since Signal it had been improving from her troubled childhood and then at Beacon she had been the happiest she had ever been. Ruby was close by, her father wasn't, she'd made the best friend she'd ever had in Blake, and even Weiss had grown on her massively.

And the White Fang had ripped it all away. The team dynamic that was fostered so heavily at Beacon had disappeared. They had gone from spending almost all of their time together, to almost none. They were all staying in the same hotel but their rooms may as well have been on different continents.

Her dream had always been to become a huntress. To explore the world, seeing new and marvellous things and helping people all the while. Most of all she had wanted to be in control of her own destiny. A huntress didn't have to take hunts they didn't want to, they didn't have to stay in one place when the desired to move on.

It was freedom that she had craved, since being forced to be the adult while growing up. She had missed the adventure that normal children had every day, but as huntress she could experience it anew. And even that had been ripped from her.

No longer was she a huntress in training, she was now a soldier. The freedom was gone and only orders remained. If Ozpin won his legal battle it was obvious what he would do with his forces, a long and sustained war awaited her.

The White Fang deserved everything that was coming to them, but the people who suffer most in war aren't the enemy, but the civilians all around them. The ones who had survived the uprising and those who had since joined them ̶ ̶ Faunus drawn to a promise of a city where they wouldn't be persecuted ̶ ̶ would be the ones who were hurt most.

If she was deployed, how many more innocents would she see killed? Maybe even kill herself if one of her rounds went astray, or even worse if she misidentified her target. They would be written off as unfortunate, but acceptable losses.  _Acceptable_. How anyone could make that statement was beyond her. One civilian death was a tragedy, but it happened time and time again. War made monsters of both sides.

It was lucky that both Ruby and Weiss wouldn't have to experience the horrors again. Her sister would not have been able to cope, Yang had seen the haunted look in her eyes, but Ruby hadn't wanted to talk to her. She had Weiss now, her big sister was no longer needed.

In all honesty Yang wanted to run. While the legal battle was still raging they technically weren't part of the military and it wouldn't have been desertion, not unless Ozpin won. But she wouldn't leave Blake and even if she agreed, they had nowhere to go. Two fugitives, with very distinctive Semblances; they would be tracked down and made examples of. Blake's heritage would likely be revealed and she would be a traitor twice over. It wasn't an option.

Also because she understood that someone had to stand up against the White Fang. Their crimes had to be answered. If the Faunus kingdom of Vale was allowed to prosper it would send up a message. That anyone with a grievance can slaughter thousands of innocent people and as long as they win, go unpunished. Civilisation wasn't built on that ideal.

Tears at the helplessness of her situation had begun to run down Yang's now rosy cheeks. In this once again she was powerless to the whims of others. But feeling sorry for herself was just another thing she hated.

"Fuck!"

Droplets sprayed out as Yang frantically took her pent up feelings out on the wall again. This time she was careful to pull her punches, her knuckles only slamming into the tiles with a fraction of force they could have. After a few moments, naked and panting, she came to a realisation of what she was doing.

She shook her head, before lifting her face into the stream. It was strong enough that it battered at her eyeslids and nose. It hurt and it felt good. And it washed away all evidence of her weakness. As she had so many times during her childhood, she shoved that part of herself back inside of her, and began to lather shampoo into her hair.

It had been neglected, her usual routine having fallen apart. Waking hungover, her first destination had always been the toilet bowl rather than the shower. Today she decided to give it the loving attention it deserved.

With fingers massaging her scalp and hot water doing the same to her lower back and ass, Yang finally managed to put aside everything that had been troubling her. She went through the cycle of lather and rinse more times than she normally would have, but her hair deserved it. After that she cleaned her body thoroughly.

Feeling somewhat refreshed, she stepped from the shower into the steam filled bathroom. The mirror was fogged and she wiped it clean before taking in her reflection. Her eyes were still were red and her head was still light, but she felt better.

When puberty hit her body had finally grown into her seemingly ill proportioned frame. Almost overnight she had gone from average to the object of male fantasies and female jealousies. At the time, being forced to care for Ruby, she hadn't been able to pay it all that much attention.

Now though, undergoing the vigorous training routine that huntress required, she could admire herself. It was vain, but it made her feel good. Her workouts hadn't slipped since getting to Atlas, if anything they had gotten much more intense.

The gym at the hotel was excellent. Ignoring the absence of some machines only used by hunters it was better than Beacon's had been. With nothing but time on her hands, she was in there an awful lot. The burn of her muscles helped rid the latent effects of the alcohol from her system in the morning, and provided a distraction from the companionship she craved in the evening.

Consequently the gooseflesh of her stomach rose and fell over the subtle changes of topography that were caused by her iron hard abs. She flexed enjoying the way her muscles writhed underneath the surface. Shifting her shoulders back caused her breasts to thrust out even more than they usually did and Yang brushed her fingers over them, lightly caressing her tender nipples that stood erect in the cooler air of the bathroom.

A soft moan escaped her lips and her hand made its own way down over her abs before it reached the smooth skin between her legs. But as soon as it reached her most sensitive area, she forced her hand away and into a fist.

That was the alcohol. She wasn't normally vain enough to get off to the sight of her own reflection in the mirror. The heat inside of her pulsed for release, but she ignored it and started drying her hair. When it had returned to its usual colour, still naked she padded into the bedroom and stopped near doorway.

The bed was enormous, large enough that it was a trek to crawl over it, and covered in white sheets that were as soft as a cloud. It was without a doubt the most expensive and luxurious bed she had ever slept in. And she hated it.

It was just a reminder of what she missed about Beacon. There her bed had been small, with barely enough space to sit up before her head hit the ceiling, the sheets had been comfortable but tough, and she had fallen asleep to sounds of her teammates. Blake's gentle breathing, Ruby's soft snores and Weiss' occasional whimpers. But they told her she wasn't alone.

Here she was. It had taken her all of a few days for her to realise this was the last place that she desired to sleep. It was just too cold, too empty, and in the emptiness the people she had failed found her.

It took one look at that large bed for her to decide as she had almost every other evening, she couldn't face it tonight. She had always had people near her, whether it had been Ruby at home or her friends at Signal and Beacon. She needed to be close to people, to laugh with them, to touch them, to hold them. In her loneliness, Yang craved closeness.

In the most populated city in the world, it wasn't hard for her to find someone who wanted to be close to her. The shop assistant would have jumped at the chance, so too would have the lift attendant most likely, judging by how he had been staring at her chest.

But they knew something of her, they would most likely follow her around, shadowing her footsteps, ask her out on more dates, when all she wanted was the physical side of a relationship. To collapse exhausted, spent, and content onto an unfamiliar bed. To nuzzle into the slick body of whoever had taken her fancy and lay her thigh over both their own. To embrace the warmth of their bed and pass out, entirely untroubled by her thoughts.

It was her way of coping. Since finding her freedom at Signal, Yang knew she had been more explorative than most. She had never felt shamed about her promiscuous behaviour, because there was nothing to be ashamed about. Her sexuality was a side of her body and it deserved just as much attention as she gave the rest of it.

When Ruby had started to attend Signal she had spent more time with her sister and her need for closeness had faded. The same at Beacon, when Blake was always there to talk to, to watch a film snuggled against, though her libido was in no way lessened, she hadn't felt the need to find someone to satisfy it. In fact she now recognised Blake had been the main person responsible for causing it to flare up inside of her. At the time her friendship was more than enough for her.

But Blake wasn't around anymore. Yang walked to her wardrobe and started searching through the clothes she had brought with Weiss' money for an outfit. Most were not what people would call practical, but were rather styled to draw everyone's eye.

Deciding on black, Yang slipped some lacy panties up her legs before struggling into a cocktail dress, which hugged all her curves tightly. It enhanced her already significant cleavage and left a large expanse of her tanned, toned legs bare.

She never really did all that much with her hair, she preferred the wild, untamed look, but she did run a brush through it a few times. Makeup was another area where she got away with a lot less maintenance than most, only applying a hint of foundation and eye shadow. Tonight though, to make her intention clear, she did add a vibrant layer of lipstick. Finally came a few sprays of perfume.

Satisfied she stepped into a pair of strappy black heels, pulled on a cute leather jacket that matched the rest of her outfit, and threw her wallet into a small purse. She normally didn't bother with anything other than a wallet, but her jacket didn't have any actual useable pockets to keep it in.

Ready, she appraised herself in the mirror. The drowned rat had vanished and in her place stood someone who was confident, looking for a good time and… someone who was very, very, hot. Yang knew it probably said something about her ego that if her mirror image approached her in a club, she would only be too happy to buy it a drink.

The grin that rose to her lips, only improved her appearance, dimples appearing on her cheeks, and her teeth contrasting heavily against her lipstick. When she put the effort in, how good she looked almost never failed to improve her mood.

Looking at herself, Yang knew her wallet wouldn't be needed. Guys would be lining up to buy her a drink, probably some girls too and she would have her pick of them. The only challenge would be her still red eyes, but they would be a great conversation starter. So much so she'd picked a lipstick which matched them and emphasised them with shadow. They would certainly make the evening interesting.

Confidently, her hips already swaying provocatively, she strutted out of the bathroom and took a final long swig of whiskey before shutting the door. The wet patches in the corridor had either evaporated or been dealt with by the staff. They wouldn't give her anymore trouble either; in these expensive clothes she looked like she belonged.

Yang was already several steps past Blake's door before she turned back. It was probably the alcohol that made her, the chance of Blake being home was almost non-existent. But if it were possible for her to spend the evening with anyone, it would be preferable to be her friend. Her fisted pounded onto the door more loudly than she'd intended, the whiskey robbing her of some of her dexterity. It sounded like something tumbled to the ground inside it.

"Blake? Are you in there?" Yang pressed against the eyehole trying to see inside, but finding only murky darkness. "Blake?" she called again.

A shadow passed over the eyehole and she almost fell inwards as her support was taken from her.

"Why exactly are you trying to bash down my do ̶ ̶ "

Blake's inquisitive voice, full of her usual dry humour was cut off abruptly as Yang threw herself at her. Catching Blake in her arms, she squeezed for all she was worth. It had been almost a week since she had seen her partner, if Blake had stopped back at the hotel in that time she hadn't informed her.

Blake smelt just like she always did, an earthy, feminine scent which reminded her of the forests she knew Blake loved. It also carried a much subtler fragrance which Yang now recognised, after tending to Blake's injuries, pertained to her heritage.

The figure in her arms didn't seem to be enjoying the embrace as much as her and with a burst of clarity Yang worked out why. Though in her loneliness and through the haze it didn't seem like she was squeezing all that hard, Blake was being almost smothered by her. Yang quickly released her and pushed her out to arm's length.

"Shit, I'm sorry. Are you ok?." Blake was a little red and her clothes were dishevelled, but she still looked beautiful. It was unfair how she had to go through so much effort whereas Blake was just able to throw anything on and look good. She hadn't even been expecting guests.

"You're drunk," Blake looked at her disapprovingly.

"No I'm not… I'm just… enjoying myself," her brain caught up with what Blake hadn't said. "Wait, didn't you miss me?"

"Of course I did. I've only just got back, otherwise I would have come to see you." That somewhat mollified the expression that Yang had been wearing. Blake looked her up and down without subtlety, taking in her long legs and exposed cleavage. "You look nice, are you going somewhere?" Blake asked with a small smirk, it was fairly obvious what her destination was.

Even though it was perhaps the tamest compliment she had ever received, it had been Blake who had given it and Yang felt her cheeks flush. "I was going to go out for a drink, do you fancy tagging along?" she tried to say it nonchalantly as though it didn't matter to her even, even though it was something she wanted so much it almost hurt.

Just the opportunity to spend an evening chatting with her best friend, talking about cute boys and other things that didn't matter in the slightest. Things that most took for granted. An evening where she didn't have to think about Vale, the army, or anything else. An evening where she could just be a normal teenager.

The emotions that she tried so much conceal must have shown on her face, for though Blake initially seemed as though she were going to decline, she paused looking at her eyes intently.

"Yang are you ok? You… don't seem yourself, I wasn't going to say anything but you know your eyes are red right?"

"Yeah, it's nothing, just some idiots who tried to mug me, they ran off before anything could happen," she shrugged, but then as she saw Blake looking at her with such concern more of her pent up emotions left her. No doubt helped on their way by the inebriated part of her brain. "I've just really missed you," she forced the tears away from her eyes.

Blake pulled her into a hug. Where hers always tried to almost squeeze the life from the recipient, Blake's were much softer, as though she wanted to savour every inch of the contact.

"Yang, I missed you as well. You're my best friend in the whole world. I'd love to go to a club with you," Blake breathed in her ear, somehow transcending just how much emotion it was possible to fit into mere words. "But are you ok?"

"I am now."

"I'm glad," Blake pulled back and kissed her cheek lightly. Blake's lips only just brushed her skin, but they sent lightning along her nerves. "Now just let me grab a coat. I think I probably have some catching up to do."

For the first time in weeks, Yang laughed, for real, not faking it as she did all the other nights to the people telling her bad jokes to get into her underwear. Blake wasn't looking for anything, apart from trying to make her feel better. Yang rubbed her cheek where Blake had kissed her, it felt ever so sensitive under her fingers and grinned sheepishly. "Yeah I think you do."

Blake disappeared momentarily before returning wrapped in a long, ankle length, stylish coat. Once again Yang marvelled how she could look so good when she had obviously been prepared to stay in all evening, probably curled up with a book. Blake just had the innate grace that surpassed her clothes, it made her jealous. Her short skirt and low cut top might get more looks tonight, but Blake deserved them more.

The only thing that Yang didn't like about her appearance was the bow firmly affixed on top of her head. It was just wrong. But in the current climate of anti-Faunus sentiment, Yang knew why she continued to hide her roots.

Blake looked puzzled for a moment, as if only just realising something. "Where's your coat?"

"I'm wearing one," she played with the edges of her jacket.

"Yang you picked that because it looks good on you, not because it's meant to protect you from the elements, it barely reaches you midriff. Where's your  _coat_?" she overemphasised the last word.

"I don't need one, Semblance remember," Yang grinned. The light banter was just another thing she had missed.

Blake let out a long sigh. "It's snowing out there. You might be the world's greatest heater but you still get wet." The remark struck a little too close to home and something must have shown on her face. Blake shook her head tiredly, sounding exasperated. "You don't have one do you? Your living in Atlas, where it snows almost every day, and you didn't think to buy a coat. You really are hopeless sometimes. Wait here."

Blake returned a moment later with a coat identical to the one she was wearing, only in dark brown instead of black. Shrugging at the questioning look, she began to take hers off. "I liked the style and they were cheap. I think this one matches your outfit more. Turn round."

Yang did as instructed and felt Blake drape the still warm coat over her body. It smelt of her partner and she wrapped it around herself snuggly, it was almost as if Blake were giving her a hug. "Thanks," she murmured, it was just like Blake to put others before herself, even in the matters of fashion. It was just who her partner was.

"You're welcome," Blake stepped into the hallway now wearing brown. "So where are you planning on taking me?" her smile was playful.

Yang was caught up in Blake's mood and frantically went through a list of all the bars and clubs she had frequented since arriving, attempting to decide which one Blake would like most. It was impossible to come up with an answer so quickly. "It's a surprise," she said in her best mysterious voice, causing Blake to roll her eyes. Yang grasped her hand and began pulling her towards the lift.

For what seemed the first time in forever, the muscles of her face had contracted into a broad smile which refused to leave. Over the past few weeks she had gone to many clubs, she had sat and talked with many different people, smiled, laughed, danced, drank, and gone much further.

But tonight, for the first time since arriving in Atlas, she wasn't going to be drinking alone.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Yang had a headache, her burning throat was in dire need of liquid, and at any moment it felt like the contents of her stomach might try and escape her mouth. Yang felt awful and she hadn't even attempted to open her eyes yet.

Sadly it was not a feeling that was all that unfamiliar to her. Over the few weeks she had been in Atlas, she had become rather adept at beating her Aura into submission in the pursuit of becoming inebriated, unfortunately that also meant she had to deal with the after effects of alcohol like everyone else.

For someone who normally didn't get so much as a cold, it was not pleasant. But it was worth it. Judging by the fact she had woken up normally and without the bed on fire she had likely slept untroubled by her dreams. Picking between a hangover and nightmares was easy.

Yang was in a fair amount of pain and knew it would only get worse when the light stabbed into her pupils but that wasn't the reason why she was refusing to open her eyes. Her left arm was entirely numb and any of her attempts to move it were halted thanks to the weight on top of it.

This was probably the most unpleasant part of remedy. A hangover she could cope with. It made the first hour or so incredibly debilitating, but as long as she forced herself through it and hit the gym, it soon diminished. Not knowing who was in the bed next to her was worse.

Whenever she went to a club, she didn't just get a little drunk, she got hammered. It was her way of having a good time. She would always be up for shots and if someone else was paying for them, even better.

Normally she would have her friends and even the more rational part of her mind to ensure she didn't get into any trouble. But in Atlas, pretty much every time she had gone out, her entire goal had been to sleep with someone and lose herself in the animal nature of the interaction.

Consequently her memories of the previous night were almost entirely absent. She remembered that someone had tried to mug her, that Blake had actually been home and they'd gone to the club together. After that it got hazy, vaguely she remembered watching Blake walk away from her and someone else approach, but that was it. So, Blake had left her at the club, and she'd ended up here.

There was definitely someone in the bed next to her, but though she was pretty certain as to what had occurred she still wasn't sure. Her free hand roamed over the soft hills and valleys of her body. She was definitely naked and as her fingers brushed against the crustiness of some of the fluid that had dried on her inner thighs that pretty much confirmed what had happened ̶ ̶ she'd likely been excited and been too inebriated to clean up after.

But the muscles in her legs didn't cry out as she moved them experimentally, as they would have done had she been sharing her bed with a very talented lover who pushed her to the edge time and time again. To be honest that had only happened once, generally two people who were drunk weren't the most competent at performing the intricate dance that sex entails.

Still with eyes closed her fingertips traced over a series of raised strips of angry flesh. Four of them, evenly spaced. Scratches. They stung when she disturbed them, but they were just another clue. Now alerted to their presence she could feel several more sets distributed over her back and sides.

So it had been rough. She wasn't opposed to that at all, sometimes it was fun to spice things up and if someone took it too far, she could always show them the error of their ways. With her Aura depleted the welts weren't healing, but she'd stop noticing them in a few hours.

The scratches told their own story. The person next to her had obviously been enjoying themselves; maybe they hadn't even been aware of what they'd been doing whilst riding on their own wave of pleasure.

Seeing as her body didn't seem to be strained it was likely she'd been the one pleasuring the other in her bed or the guy she was with got excited rather too quickly. It sometimes happened but she'd never made a big deal of it. Just cleaned up and started over again. If anyone was in her bed they were both going to have a good time. She'd always been able to get a response out of even the most sheltered guy, so the fact she wasn't sore and the scratches indicated it was probably a girl who she'd treated to a ride without reply.

The mental exercise of trying to piece together the many clues was somewhat distracting her from her splitting headache so she continued to hypothesise. So it was a girl, they'd had sex, judging by the rather potent smell she'd made her come at least several times, and they'd been too tired or drunk to clean up properly.

Yang thrust her mind back through the haze, into the bright lights and pounding music. There had been one sitting at the bar with her friends. A red head ̶ ̶ vibrant dyed red ̶ ̶ who'd met her gaze with knowing eyes and a smile which needed no further explanation. She'd even come over to sit at their table. It must be her.

That wasn't too bad, as long as she understood it was just a one night thing. Otherwise it was just too complicated and a relationship was the last thing that she wanted right now. Still, she was cute; she'd even had a spark in her eye that suggested she didn't exactly want to obey the rules.

It really could have been a lot worse, it certainly had been before. Though she hadn't slept with anyone and regretted it, there had certainly been some who probably wouldn't have topped her list had she been sober. But that girl though, unless her memories were betraying her, would have been pretty close to the summit.

Her red hair was amazing. She'd always been fascinated with more unusual colours that people transformed their appearance with. The crimsons, the hot pinks, the electric blues, even Weiss' platinum white. Though Weiss' was all the more impressive because unless they Atlesian Royal line had been playing the long con throughout their existence, it was entirely natural. White hair was hot, of course she'd never admitted that to Weiss of course, doubly so now.

It had always been a daydream of hers to think how her own hair would look in another colour than blonde, but she'd always held back. Most of the colours that were in her imagination required her to first bleach her precious mane. That was a far more severe treatment than she was willing to foist upon her most prized asset, it would have figuratively killed to see her hair fall splitting and dead to her sides, it might even have literally killed her if her Semblance overloaded.

Going darker was an option. Bleach wouldn't have been necessary for brunette or black, but there was still the issue of putting something in her hair which would change it drastically. Even the most expensive dyes weren't infallible.

She kept it blonde for another reason as well, the main reason. Her mum had always loved it, they'd sit together under the stars wrapped in Summer's cloak and her mum would just play with it. Brushing her fingers through it, working out any of the knots her daughter's playtime in the forest around their home had caused, saying just how pretty it was on her, and how much she loved her. Occasionally Ruby unable to sleep would toddle out from her bed and would burrow under the cloak using her sister's hair as a pillow. Taiyang would then emerge look at the three women in his life and settle down next to his wife, wrapping a strong arm around her and the girls in her lap. Their unbroken family would sit in their cosy garden and just watch as the stars went shooting by, bathed in the each other's warmth and love. Those lazy evenings were some of the best memories she had and she missed them more than she could possible imagine.

It was her mum's memory that kept her from changing her hair and made her so incredibly protective of it. But she could still entertain the fantasy of dyeing it, even if she never would. Tentatively with her free hand Yang reached toward the person sharing her bed.

The girl shifted slightly as Yang traced the soft skin of her back. It was definitely a girl now, there was a subtle difference between the flesh of a male and female, well cared for they both had the texture of silk, but there was one. It was a girl who went to the gym though, just beneath the velvet there was the iron hardness of muscles that were put to regular hard use.

It was just lucky that the girl was facing away from her otherwise her blind exploration would have had very different consequences. Though that might not have been too bad, there was a warmth in her core that spoke of unsatisfied desire and after all her successful work last night it was the least the girl could do to return the compliment. Just as long as she understood nothing more would happen.

The form next to her shuddered again, the steady breathing of deep sleep becoming less so as her hand traced each ever vertebrae until it came to the object of her desires. The crimson hair was almost liquid in her hands. It was so soft and well cared for that she was forced to rethink what she'd read about bleach killing hair.

Such was its texture; she knew it would smell incredible before raising it to her nose. It smelt of the sweat that was all around them, flowers, earth, and something she couldn't quite lay her finger on. In fact it almost smelt like…

Her eyes shot open. Blackness greeted her. Blackness topped by two pointed and twitching ears. Yang forgot how to breathe.

Literally. For several long seconds the air in her lungs stilled as she hopelessly tried to convince herself it wasn't the person who she knew it was. As she prayed it wasn't her partner in her bed. But her body's need for oxygen could not be denied forever, no matter how much its owner wanted to never breathe again and what was unmistakably Blake's scent passed into her nose and mouth.

She started to laugh. Not loudly, at least she didn't wake her best friend, but it was not a happy laugh. It was the laugh of someone who had desperately been trying to force herself through everything that had been thrown at them by the gods and had finally snapped at the latest cruel jest. It was the laugh of someone who was truly not well.

The laughter that bubbled from her throat left her mouth in an unsteady and frantic pattern, morphing until it was almost indistinguishable from the sound of sobbing.

No connection. That had been her one rule. The one she had followed unfailingly. Even when at another time she might have desired to have a coffee with the person she woke up next to, she hadn't. She had left knowing that it wouldn't have been fair on either of them.

All she'd wanted was to have a good time. To distract herself from her crippling loneliness and sadness that had been hounding her. She'd sleep with someone, have some fun, fall into a dreamless sleep and be out the door before they awoke. Someone to use then abandon. Nice and simple.

And she'd gone and fucked one of the two most important people in her life. Someone she cared for immensely. Someone she had been trying to analyse her feelings towards even while sleeping with others. Her partner, her best friend in the entire world, the one person who she didn't feel the need to be strong around, and she'd fucked her. It was just too much.

No she'd done worse than sleep with her, she'd raped her. Blake was straight; she'd never shown the slightest inclination towards another girl. She'd been in a relationship with Adam, maybe in one with Sun before he died. If she'd been sober she never would have agreed to sleep with her.

That her hangover indicated they'd both been drunk wasn't relevant in the slightest. If she'd been a true friend she would have respected Blake's wishes no matter what. Instead she'd presumably leapt upon the chance to have something that she knew would otherwise been denied to her.

The trust Blake had placed in her since the time their eyes locked in the Emerald Forest had been abused in the worst way imaginable. All sacrificed for something she couldn't even remember. It must have made her feel good at the time, but now she knew she was the worst person in existence.

It wasn't brave, it wasn't noble, it was cowardice of the highest order. But for the sake of their friendship, their team, her mind settled on the only course open to her. Slowly, and very carefully Yang started pulling on her numb arm. If she were just able to get out of here without Blake waking, they could carry on like this never happened. They were in Blake's room, she would know she'd had a one night stand but not who it was with; her friend would be none the wiser to who had betrayed her. Everything would go back to normal.

That normal referred to her being chronically lonely and depressed enough to have gotten into this trouble didn't matter. It was infinitely better than this situation. But her arm wouldn't move. Blake was lying on her side facing away from her and her arm was lodged right under the hardness of Blake's ribs, her partner's weight pressing it firmly into the mattress.

Yang pulled the dead limb a little harder, it started to give way before a movement caused her to freeze. The flesh of her arm was almost entirely numb, so she saw more than felt Blake catch the errant hand in one of her own and bring it to her chest.

Yang almost swore out loud. She almost started crying. Blake was squeezing her own hand like a stuffed animal against her body and with the angles against her, every one of the her attempts to free it only served to disrupt Blake's steady breaths.

Her struggles had caused the quilt to slide down to their waists. If it was anyone else, the slim pale back that was exposed would have excited her, now it only filled her with panic. She'd seen most of it before of course, when she'd tended to Blake's wounds. But there was an infinite difference between most and all.

That time Blake's underwear had stayed on, because she'd known that Blake would never have removed it herself. Back then she'd respected her friend's wishes. Last night she hadn't. Blake would hate her for it, maybe even report her, and it was no more than she deserved.

"Please," Yang let out a whimper of desperation as she futilely tugged at the arm that was held firmly against Blake body.

The low whisper of despair flitted through the room, over the naked bodies entwined together, before finally reaching the twitching ears on top of the stirring one's head. It was perhaps indicative of their closeness that while laughter hadn't woken her, a soft plea of distress from her partner did.

Not to say Blake woke quickly; though long practice had given her the ability to leap up with a weapon in hand even before taking a breath, alcohol was the great leveller. It made a mockery of painstakingly learned skills and Blake's return to consciousness was neither quick nor pleasant.

From behind her Yang could tell the exact moment she became aware of the pain that had been stalking her throughout the night as Blake's soft breaths became more ragged. Just as she could tell that Blake was hadn't yet opened her eyes for fear of the light stabbing into them. A soft moan filled the room as Blake finally released her arm to put a hand to her aching forehead.

But it was too late. Blake was awake and as soon as her senses returned to her would know exactly what she had done. In the perverse part of her brain she almost found Blake's discovery of her crimes funny.

Blake paused midway through massaging her forehead, slowly reached back down for the arm she had abandoned, clutched it again, before her eyes burst open and she looked down at the arm was not her own.

It took her a second to process, before she span round as best she could. Yang didn't think Blake recognised her at first, or at least she hoped so. Trapped by her arm, they were only a few inches apart and Blake seeing someone so close jerked backwards in panic.

They locked eyes. Amber met red. And neither of them smiled. Yang knew a grimace of shame was upon her lips whereas Blake's face was screwed up in what must have been disgust. Her eyes flicked downwards taking in both their bodies.

To Yang's shame her eyes mirrored her partner's. Blake's breasts were firm, her areolas islands of darkness in a sea of milky white. The mountains that were her nipples rising proudly into the air. Yang knew the first time she saw them last night she would have marvelled at their roundness. She would have held them, lowered her mouth to kiss them, and sampled their flavour. There were red marks where she had rolled Blake's nipples between her teeth, teasing them with her tongue until the recipient of her attention would have cried out in frustration and ecstasy.

But now their beauty held no pleasure for her. Her actions last night had sundered that in its entirety. There was only guilt that she couldn't even remember the moment of utmost trust that two people share the first time they disrobe in each other's presence.

Yang eyes rose from their lecherous inspection back up to meet Blake's. Her cheeks were even paler than they had been moments before as she confirmed what she had obviously believed. Blake's voice rasped into the frigid stillness between them.

"Did w ̶ ̶ "

Yang nodded before she was even through the first word, but the reaction to her confession was even worse than feared. Blake didn't scream at her, didn't attack her, instead she went green and as quickly as she were able she rolled away from her off the bed, not even bothering to hide her nudity as she dashed away. Yang's final sight of her partner was of her pale posterior disappearing round the door to the bathroom. The sounds of vomiting echoed around the room.

Her body ceased to function. Anger she could understand, but that Blake had been so revolted by her that she had thrown up she couldn't. Or maybe she could, she felt like she was even worse than vomit.

The last hopes of maybe being able to talk it out, explain what had happened, get down on her knees and grovel, to apologise, and maybe somehow persuade Blake to find it in her heart to forgive such a wretched person as her had vanished.

There was nothing else for it. Team RWBY was no more, her actions had seen to that. They would never again go out for a meal, go on a hunt and show everyone why their skills should be celebrated, never be friends again.

It was her mess. It wasn't fair that anyone else should suffer for it, especially not Blake. She'd go back to her room, pack her bags, and leave. Weiss had given her more than enough money to travel anywhere in Atlas or beyond it. She could vanish in the forests of Mistral or she could hunt Grimm on the steppes of Vacuo. No one would ever have to hear from her again and Blake would still have her two true friends.

Ruby was a problem, she would never allow her to go. The imagined sight of her crying and holding onto her tore at her heart. It had been bad enough when she had left for Signal, this would be infinitely worse. But it was the right thing to do for all of them. She may have been a disgusting human being, but she wasn't prepared to let others suffer for her mistakes.

It would have to be a note, it would tear Ruby apart but Weiss and Blake would be there for her. Together they would come through it stronger and maybe in a few decades they would find it in themselves to forgive her.

It wasn't the most rational plan, there were a thousand things that Yang hadn't accounted for, but the sounds of violent retching from the bathroom only drove her on. She rose from the soiled bed and for the first time took in the room.

Apart from the size, it looked like every other bedroom she had snuck out of over the past few weeks. Clothes were scattered all over the room where they had been so carelessly discarded. Yang stepped into her panties before once more struggling into the black dress. It was a lot harder with her head still pounding and her coordination still not returned.

The location of the garments told their own story. Though hers were present, most of Blake's weren't. She hadn't even waited to get her into the bedroom before ripping her clothes off. That was how desperate she'd been to get at the thing she knew she'd never otherwise had the opportunity to.

Blake's own briefs were balled up on a chair and her bra hadn't even made it through the door. Yang left the sounds of Blake's revulsion and padded into the living area. It was almost like reading spoor.

Their heavy coats and her purse had been abandoned almost the moment they had got through the door. Blake's top and bow had come next, after that she'd obviously pushed her backwards across the open space until Blake's thighs had hit the counter of the kitchenette.

A spilled mug of hot chocolate showed where she'd lifted Blake onto the marble and pulled her boots and pants off. After that it was a little harder to work out. Blake's bra had come off half way between the kitchen and the sofa and was hanging from a strap on the corner of the dining table. On the sofa with Blake only in her briefs, it seemed she had finally raced to catch up. The cushions were dislodged and her jacket was on top of them, her heels were at the sofa's base.

After that they had obviously headed towards the bedroom and she knew only too well what had happened there. Shame weighing her down, Yang gathered her clothes and shoes into her arms, not bothering to dress for the quick journey down the hall.

Her purse was under the coat Blake had so selflessly loaned her, she was tempted to take that as well. A final memory of the bond they had once shared, but it was Blake's and she wouldn't compound her crimes by stealing from her.

The door clicked shut finally sealing off the sounds of Blake's misery. The tears that had been threatening to escape for so long finally slipped from their captors. Her last memory of Blake, the person who had been her best friend, would be the audible disgust she now felt towards her. Everything they had shared undone by just a single moment of her utmost stupidity.

By the time she'd made it to her room, her vision was almost entirely obscured by her misery. It was fortunate that the door clicked opened just by the nearness of her key and didn't need her to place it in a slot otherwise she would have been standing hunched over in her dress in the hallway for hours.

The moment she was inside she let everything tumble from her arms, almost fell backwards against the door and slid down it. She knew there was so much she needed to do, decide what to pack, where to go, write the note to Ruby, but at that moment she just couldn't. The knowledge that she'd made her bad life immeasurably worse was just crippling.

And in the pits of her despair, she spotted the only way out. Sitting illuminated in the morning light on the dining table was the half-finished bottle of whiskey. She almost laughed. Her troubles had started with it, they may as well end with it as well. And maybe at the bottom of the bottle, when she'd tried to drink her troubles away, she'd feel less like vomiting at the sight of herself in the mirror.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Blake hung onto the toilet seat like her life depended on it. Her stomach was revolting against her body with every single ounce of effort it could muster. The bowl was already full of apparently everything she had consumed in the past few days, and though the stench of it only caused her to wretch more, the manual flush was entirely out of reach for her shaking body.

Every time this happened she always swore that she'd never touch a drop of alcohol again and she always broke that promise. In moderation it was fine but when she invariably took it too far, she took it much too far.

Acid surged up her throat again, burning the sensitive nerves on her tongue, and a thin stream of the fluid plopped into the sewer below. Blake rested her cheek on the porcelain, entirely unbothered by the millions of germs that were likely crawling their way onto her skin. If she was lucky one of them would kill her and put an end to her misery.

The consequences of her night didn't end with her heaving stomach because someone was driving a chisel into the front of her skull, the bright lights of the bathroom were searing her eyes, and sweat was leaking from almost all the pores on her body. As hangovers go it was a bad one and she hoped Yang couldn't hear her suffering.

God… Yang. They'd… they'd… slept together. It was too much to hope for that they'd merely been sleeping in the same bed. They'd done that plenty of times at Beacon, when the room was too cold or one of them just wanted to have someone to cuddle with, but all those things had one thing in common, they hadn't been naked.

Blake blearily flicked her eyes down to double check. Pale flesh and lots of it was sprawled on the warm tiles. They probably weren't helping she would have preferred for them to be cold, it might have at least stopped her sweating if they were leaching the warmth from her body.

She retched again but with only the slightest trace of fire in the back of her throat at the result. It would have been wonderful to believe that nothing more had happened between them than sleeping in the same bed, but she couldn't.

Her legs were cramping where she was holding her weight up over the toilet and the rest of her muscles were little better. It was only too clear that she'd orgasmed multiple times last night, her inner thighs carried the evidence.

If not for the blistering hangover, she was sure she'd have awoken with a blissful smile on her face. But without the alcohol that lead to the hangover they would never have slept together. She knew first hand just how bad an idea drunken copulations turned out to be. The last time she'd fucked someone after getting drunk it had been Adam.

Now every single time she looked into Yang's eyes, she'd be reminded of him. He was the last person who she wanted to associate Yang with. But now she would, all because of their collective stupidity.

Blake's body finally gave up and she slid to the floor curling up into a ball. She hadn't even planned on going out. Her intentions had revolved around her bed, a book, and mug of hot chocolate. Of course as was the case Yang hadn't been content to allow her to be antisocial.

She'd always been incredibly grateful to her boisterous partner. If not for her, she wouldn't have made even half the number of friends that she had at Beacon. Yang was always the one who dragging her along, forcing her to be emerge from wherever she had hidden herself and if the conversation turned into awkward silence, it was always her partner who broke it.

So it had not been with much all that much hesitation that she had risen to greet Yang after the hammering that had caused her to jump and drop her book. But if she had known how the evening would have ended she'd have pretended to not be in her room.

What was the relationship between the two of them going to be like now? Could they go back to how it was, nice and simple? Probably not and did she want them to? It was undeniable that she must have enjoyed herself last night, but those memories were just an expanse of darkness.

The contents of Blake's stomach launched a fresh sally into her mouth and she was forced to scramble upwards and release the pressure. When the groans of suffering finally died down, Blake found herself feeling a little bit better now that most of the toxins had escaped her body. Of course that only changed her outlook from vehemently wanting to die, to seriously considering it.

Despite that Blake knew that curling back up on the floor wouldn't do a whole lot to soothe her body so instead she rose using the toilet for leverage before finally hitting the manual flush and emptying the bowl of the stench. Her head spun in protest at her movements and she had to steady herself on the counter.

Her reflection in the mirror was a perfect replication of just how she felt. Her eyes were hooded with darkness, her face pale and green, her hair was hanging lifelessly, the ears atop her head drooped with discomfort, and her mouth was flecked with chunks of whatever she had eaten yesterday.

She looked awful and it was precisely what she deserved for drinking so much. In punishment she stuck her head under the icy stream from the faucet. The frigid temperature of the water on her heated flesh caused her to gasp in shock and all the hairs on her body stood up in protest.

Though temporarily it robbed her of all the capacity for thought, after removing her sodden skull and spraying droplets over the heated tiles, her head cleared. With hot water this time she wiped her face clean and took a swig of mouthwash to clear the vile taste from her tongue.

Beads of cold fell from her wet hair, rolling down her bare body they leeched the warmth from her and caused her to shiver. Pulling a towel from the heated rack, she wrapped it around the sodden raven locks. The position of her arms thrust her breasts out and her eyes alighted on the redness around her nipples. Her fingers found them stiff, sore, and incredibly sensitive. Yang had apparently given them plenty of attention and that attention had not been gentle.

That concerned her. The only other person she had slept with had been Adam and he had not been gentle either. He had been much older than her, much larger, and much stronger. At the time without any previous experience she had assumed the scratches and slaps were normal. She hadn't minded them, they'd even been somewhat enjoyable, just part of the overall sensation but she'd assumed he didn't mean to hurt her, or that was at least what she had thought in her naivety.

After what she had seen, what had been haunting her, she knew he was a sadist. He enjoyed causing others pain and now Yang had left similar marks on her body. The fear that she was repeating the same mistakes was very real inside of her. She had trusted Adam completely and that trust had been entirely misplaced. Was the trust she had in Yang?

Did Yang harbour the same tendencies? Both of them were extremely quick to anger and when unleashed both their tempers had a frightful capacity for violence. Even in training when they had all been tested by Erashan all it had taken were a few words and Yang had tried to kill him. At the time that had scared her, now it terrified her.

Terrified her so much that part of her mind told her to run. To leave Yang behind, go far away, to a place where she would be unable to hurt her. It was the wise thing to do, it was better to break it off cleanly now, than for it to be severed messily later.

Blake fought down the rising tide of panic as fiercely as she was able to. Yang was her friend. Yang was nothing like Adam and she was no longer the person that ran when the odds were stacked against her, she was better than that now. They would get through this together.

With that thought in her mind Blake wrapped herself in the fluffy white robe hanging on the back of the door and entered the bedroom. The first thing that hit her was the smell. If she'd had any lingering doubt to what they had got up to in that bed last night, the smell got rid of them. The second thing she noticed was the complete absence of her partner.

The quilt was bunched up as though it had been thrust back hastily. Maybe Yang had realised the last thing she would have wanted was for her to listen to the sound of her vomiting.

"Yang?" Blake said into the emptiness of the living room.

With Yang nowhere in sight, Blake guessed she must have gone back to her room to change into more comfortable clothes than the very alluring but tight outfit she had been wearing yesterday. Blake had to suppress a twitch at the sight of the untidiness that was before her.

It had long been instilled in her by her parents that it was her job to clean up after herself; after all they had both been doctors and no one would want to visit a surgery where the tools were dirty and in the wrong place. It was one of her chores in the evening to help tidy the practice and though of course she had been sullen at the time, now the many evenings spent helping her parents were some cherished memories.

It was a habit that she had kept up with in later life. Even in the White Fang her corner of whatever hideout they found themselves in had always been neatly organised, her emergency supplies and Gambol Shroud never out of reach, no clutter blocking her escape route.

At Beacon it had been even harder. Though she had found a kindred spirit in Weiss, at least in that aspect, the two sisters were not neat. Yang was content to kick her dirty clothes into a pile at the end of the day, a pile that would only grow until her wardrobe was empty and Ruby was little better. It had been an uphill struggle for both and Weiss to change their partner's ways and they had only been partially successful. Yang had at least used the designated basket for her clothes, though Blake was constantly forced to neaten things up after her.

At least today she was tidying up after the both of them. Of course she could have left it all for the staff at the hotel to do, but she wasn't one who liked creating unnecessary work for others. It appeared that the pair of them had been rather eager to get each other out of their clothes, judging by how hers were scattered.

That was a good thing or that was at least what she told herself. Her inebriated self often made truly awful decisions and she sincerely hoped that this wouldn't prove to be one of them. If they had both enjoyed it then it should be easier to deal with the fallout.

Truth be told she hadn't really thought all that far ahead. She liked Yang. In her opinion they shared a real connection built of adversity and mutual strength. It should be able to withstand this. But did she feel more?

She really didn't feel qualified to answer. Her experience consisted of Adam and a few dates with Sun that she had forced herself to go on. That was it. And as much as she read romance novels, they didn't actually contain real advice. She and Yang weren't ninjas in training from rival clans, they hadn't both been sent to steal the same priceless painting only for them to meet for the first time as they were reaching for it. They hadn't chased each other over the rooftops, tussling over control of their prize, only to later realise they were enjoying each other's company too much to put any real effort into escape.

If that had been the case she would have had all the answers to her problems written down. If only life were so easy. No, she had to do it the hard way. Logic was the way forward, so in her mind she started making a list.

Yang was her friend. But Yang  _was her friend_ , she might not be afterwards. Yang was beautiful. She had problems with her anger. She was compassionate. They would have fiery arguments. She would always try and protect others. They had both been drunk that was no foundation for a relationship. She wanted to make Yang happy. She wasn't in a good place right now and Yang probably wasn't either. Yang made her happy. They were both girls.

The last didn't matter, what mattered were her feelings towards the individual not society's expectations. Not that she'd likely be discriminated because of that, people were more likely to throw insults if she were to go out without her bow than if she were to kiss Yang in public.

At Beacon Velvet had been abused because she was a Faunus not because she had openly been in a relationship with a girl. The girl in question probably helped, it would have been a brave person who decided to educate Coco on why her preferences were wrong.

Beacon had been an incredibly liberal place when it came to sexuality though. It had to be when there were so many couples walking around. It had long given her the pause for thought, as to why there were.

Quite often partners became romantically engaged at some point. It was the logical evolution to the trust they had to place in each other. When someone saves your life time and time again, stronger feelings were likely to follow. Also when you were required to sleep in the same room, even if you had the money to sleep elsewhere, it enhanced those feelings. When you spent almost all your time together, when you saw them in their sleepwear, underwear, it put the question into hormonal minds.

If it wasn't partners it was often other teammates or classmates. Everything fostered incredibly strong relationships between the pupils which was good for combat, but her more cynical mind pointed to another reason.

With so many pupils getting together and forming what would be for some lifelong bonds, it was only logical that most would get married. Though in her particular circle of friends there was a significant proportion of homosexual relationships, Beacon as a whole fell into a more traditional split.

For those couples, they would likely have children. The strength of an Aura was not completely hereditary, it depended on the person, but more than not it helped. Often the sons and daughters of hunters ended up being able to become hunters. Most at Beacon had a long history of combat in their family line; hers as far as she knew was the exception to the norm.

The hunters who engaged in relationships at Beacon and the other combat schools around the world would have children who in all likelihood would follow in their parent's footsteps. They were being used as breeding stock to ensure that the next generation also had the protectors the world so needed.

It was cold and calculating but it was understandable. The Grimm weren't going away and so neither could those who fought them. In twenty or thirty years it was likely some of her friend's children would be studying at a combat school, ready to defend society.

It might even be her close friends. Unless something disastrous happened ̶ ̶ like that which already so nearly occurred ̶ ̶ she could see Ruby and Weiss still being together then. With the rapid advancements in gene therapy and for someone with Weiss' resources it was entirely possible that they might be able to have a daughter together. It was a long shot, but she hoped they would get to share that particular joy.

With the living room tidied and the gentle exercise having helped banish the majority of her hangover and loosened her sore muscles, Blake realised that she had procrastinated long enough. It was time for her and Yang to actually have a talk about what happened and what was going to happen next.

Steeling herself Blake quickly dressed before tying the ribbon atop her head. It was sad that it was necessary for even the short walk down the hall to Yang's room but thanks to the actions of the White Fang she didn't have much of a choice.

Before their actions in Vale, most of the anti-Faunus sentiment had come from a small bigoted percentage of the human population, with most either apathetic to their suffering or even those who desired equality.

Now just as she had predicted the last two groups had almost been entirely diminished. All Faunus were now regarded as members of the White Fang, even those who had escaped from Vale. It wasn't being reported on the news, but she had seen first-hand a number of attacks on the Faunus citizens of Atlas. If there were only one or two aggressors she had been able to intervene, but even a huntress was unable to stop a mob and she had been forced to watch impotently as they destroyed all the worldly possessions of poor Faunus families in retaliation for crimes they had no part in.

There had even been deaths that hadn't been investigated and had gone unpunished. It was no wonder that many of the Faunus were looking wistfully south towards the supposed safety represented by the Faunus run kingdom of Vale. There were even rumours that the government of Vale were going to start hiring transport for any Faunus who wanted to relocate.

She knew that would never happen. Atlas or any of the other kingdoms simply could not afford to allow the Faunus workforce to emigrate. They filled the majority of the unskilled, labour intensive positions. As much as many liked to look down on them, they were absolutely vital to the economy of all the countries.

There was no easy solution to what the White Fang had set in motion. The cycle of violence that they relied on to survive had only been dramatically intensified. The human governments would have to strike back either with increased suppression of the Faunus within their kingdoms or with attacks on Vale. That in turn would only drive even more Faunus into the arms of the White Fang, which was exactly what they wanted.

In the space of a day, the White Fang had turned from a terrorist organisation to a major player on the world stage and she didn't know where it would end.

The hallway was deserted and Blake knocked on Yang's door softly. When it didn't open she knocked a little harder and called out her partner's name, but her actions still went unanswered. Assuming Yang was in the shower, she was just about to turn away when the slightest hint of a sob passed under the thick door.

A human wouldn't have heard it, but under their bow her ears twitched at the low whimper of distress. Blake pressed her head up against the wood and listened. For a moment she thought she'd imagined it, but then it came again and there was no mistaking it. Yang was crying.

Crying because they'd slept together. Because she regretted it. To know Yang thought she had been a mistake hurt, she'd hoped Yang might have at least been approaching the situation like she was. That it had been the result of an unfortunate set of circumstances, that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but they had to work out how to proceed from this moment on. But Yang obviously regretted it enough for tears to flow.

That fact proved almost too much for her newly re-established resolve not to run from any potential conflict. It would be so much easier to disappear, to not have to face the look of shame in Yang's eyes every time they met, so easy. But it would mean abandoning who she was now.

The trainee huntress with actual friends. Friends who cared about her. The person who was actually giving back to the world just like her parents had. A person who she actually liked.

It was more for selfish reasons that she banged on the door again, she couldn't allow herself to regress back to the terrorist who cried herself to sleep most nights. It would be difficult, but they had to be able to get through this, she couldn't believe that everything she and Yang shared could be undone by just a single, drunken mistake.

"Yang open the door, we need to talk." When there was no answer but a small pause in the sobs she spoke again. "Yang I know you're in there, I can hear you, we can't just ignore what happened."

It was soft but she heard it. "Go away."

The dismissal raised her temper, that was a childish way to deal with a problem, one which didn't solve anything.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'll wait out here all day if I have to."

The pair of them were making a scene if any of the other guests were in there rooms though it couldn't be helped. But as five minutes crawled by, Blake's patience wore thin; her hangover not making her any more charitable to Yang's behaviour. Her threat to stand by the door all day was not one she thought she'd have to fulfil in a discussion between adults.

Unfortunately for Yang, the life she was trying so fervently to leave behind was also the one which had furnished her with a lot of experience of getting into places where she wasn't wanted. The lock on the door was like all the others at the hotel, responding to a key card and consequently impossible to pick. At a Schnee facility security was paramount.

But there was a weak spot; Atlas had safety regulations, if the computer system malfunctioned there had to be a way of manually unlocking the door. If it was the same type of lock that was present in the majority of the SDC's lower security facilities which it appeared like it was, it wouldn't prove too much of an obstacle.

"Yang, open the door now!" Blake decided to let Yang have once last chance to be a grown up.

When there was still no sound of movement she retreated to her room and withdrew a small black case from the back of her wardrobe. It had taken her a while to reassemble ̶ ̶ the last having been left at Beacon ̶ ̶ and it may have been a tie to her old life, but it was too useful not to have, as it was going to prove again.

It only took her a few seconds of close inspection to decide on a course of action. She looked up and down the hall nervously before going to work. The screws that secured the faceplate were quickly loosened by her small electric screwdriver, until it flopped down on the last one and the inner circuitry was exposed. Luckily, it was a design that was familiar to her; it only took her bridging the gap between two terminals for the lock to click open.

As quickly as possible she reattached the faceplate before stepping inside the room. Just over a minute had passed since the low whirring of her screwdriver had first filled the hall, the log would show the manual override had been tripped, but with nothing stolen it would likely be assumed to be a glitch. As always security was only an illusion to those who didn't know how easy it was to circumvent.

It was the first time Blake hand been in Yang's room since arriving and as she was zipping up her case, she looked around. It was identical to hers in almost every way, but the ways that it was different was what concerned her.

The windows were dark and it took all of heritage to pierce through the shadows. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of the air that was thick with alcohol. Not freshly opened alcohol but alcohol that had been present for days and in significant quantity. The cleaners must have done their best, probably to the extent they believed it cleared but to her more acute senses it was pungent.

A feeling of trepidation began to well up inside of her as she started to follow the sobs back to their source. These rooms were so unlike what she had expected Yang's to be like. She'd expected them to be bright, full of the clutter Yang had accumulated on her trips around Atlas' many shopping centres, but the room she was in hardly looked lived in at all.

"I'm coming in," she called out tentatively, waiting a moment before pushing open the bedroom door.

The crying cut off abruptly as Yang was suddenly alerted that Blake was inside of her apartment. Upon entering she had unconsciously dropped into a flat footed gait that was silent on creaking floorboards let alone plush carpet.

The room was dark and it took her a moment to locate her partner. Yang was not sat on the bed or in one of the chairs as might be expected, but was instead huddled into a corner on the floor. She was still wearing her black dress from the previous night, one arm hugging her knees into her chest while the other quickly tried to wipe the tears away from her red rimmed eyes, but she couldn't get rid of the black lines of mascara. On the floor next to her was an almost finished bottle of whiskey.

"Hi," Yang said her attempt at a casual greeting completely ruined by her continuing sniffles.

Blake didn't answer but carefully stepped closer, eyes carefully scanning over everything in sight. The room was too tidy, Yang's clothes were neatly organised in her wardrobe, the bedside tables were empty as were the chairs. There was a small pile of dirty clothes balled up, but that was it.

"Fuck, I didn't mean for anything to happen between us." Yang reached for the bottle by her side and drained the last few drops. "I just had too much to drink. I never thought it would be you." Yang hung her head and spoke to her knees. "Fuck Blake, look I'm sorry. I know nothing will ever be able to make things right between us, but… fuck. Look, if you want to report me go ahead, it's what I deserve."

This was not what she had expected when she stepped into the room. She had thought Yang regretted it, not that Yang believed herself guilty of some crime which comprised of the fact they had slept together.

Yang's other sentence had also finally caused all the pieces in her head to finally fit together. The smell of alcohol on her breath the other evening, the black dress showing lots of skin, why she was dressed that way in the first place, the barely lived in apartment, the perfectly made bed.  _I never thought it would be you_ , but she had obviously thought it would be someone.

She had let her partner down, perhaps more than she ever had before. Any hurt she had felt when she thought Yang regretted what they had done was multiplied a hundred fold as Blake realised what her partner had been going through. Alone.

On the rare occasions they had spent together since arriving in Atlas Yang had shown none of her strife. Blake knew that Yang wouldn't have wanted to burden her sister with anything, but she had thought their relationship was past such façades. Yang had always greeted her with a smile and a hug, they had perhaps been a little more rigorous than usual, but she'd assumed that was because they weren't seeing each other as much, not because Yang actually needed her. The times when she had tried to call early in the morning before heading out without answer made sense now as well.

Blake knew she should have seen the signs; they were obvious now she had the whole picture. But she'd been far too concerned with herself to notice her partner's need. She thought Yang had found a way to cope with everything that had happened, just like she had.

Almost every day she would head out with the credit card Weiss had given her and go to the temporary accommodation where the refugees were being housed. Most had at least been given shelter and the necessary supplies, but there was one group who had not.

The Faunus refugees always had to wait the longest at the centres that had been set up. Wait while subject to the hostile glares from all around, and when they finally got to the front after hours of patience, they'd find the centre had just run out, but they could always come back tomorrow.

They had been given the worst accommodation, dilapidated apartment blocks that had been scheduled for demolition, they were better than being outside in a blizzard but not by much. Unheated, unfurnished, they had to sleep on top of whatever materials they had manage to scrounge together and far too sadly for most it was not too different than from what they had to face in Vale.

No matter how much people tried to hide from it, racism was still rife in the world. The areas that the majority of the Faunus workforce were forced to live in due to their low wages were little better than slums. No one cared because they were out of the way, no humans ever had to traipse through them on the way to their fairly paid jobs.

In the White Fang she had spent a lot of time in them speaking to the disenchanted people who only wanted the world to treat them fairly. They were no different in Vale than they had been in any of the other major cities she had visited and they were no different in Atlas.

Every sector where the tens of thousands of Faunus labourers for the hundreds of factories around Atlas stayed were dirt poor and the refugees had been dumped right in the middle of them without even the safety net of jobs.

The refugees wouldn't have had much before being forced by the organisation that said it was their champions to flee their homes, but now they had nothing. There at least she could help. She knew if not for the drive of her parents she very well could have grown up in the same position, she was extremely lucky and one of the aspects in which she was lucky were her friends.

She didn't know what the limit was on the card Weiss had given her was but she hadn't hit it yet. There were a dozen things that each of the families needed and she did her best to provide them. Blankets, food, water, clothes. Simple things they should have received days ago but were still waiting for.

One of the main traits about most Faunus all over the world ̶ ̶ at least the ones still clinging to some shred of optimism that things will improve ̶ ̶ were that they were so kind hearted. When you didn't have much in the way of material possessions you were forced to cling onto what you did have with both hands. Family, friendship, love, hope.

Even when they had next to nothing, they were still willing to share what they did have. The food she brought for one family was stretched out to feed a dozen, the blankets were shared between siblings, even whole families, and they stayed in the same room to try and keep the temperature above freezing.

When the boxes she had brought ran out, there were no complaints, no shouts of anger, just gentle smiles at her obvious frustration, gratitude that she was trying, and invites to share the dinner they were preparing.

Blake was sure that at least some of them recognised her as one of their own, but they never resented that she obviously wasn't sleeping on the floor, that she wasn't in the same situation as they were. Instead they just seemed glad that one of their kind had the means to help others.

As much as it seemed like it as times she wasn't the only one helping. Though the majority of the aid money was going to the human refugees, some was trickling down. There were other Faunus like her, ones who had managed to beat the odds and dig themselves out of the rut that was meant for them. Having lived through it they knew what their fellows would be left to suffer if they didn't have a helping hand. There were also other charities, ones who didn't care about race, but just wanted to help those in need. Together they had managed to do what the Atlesian government should have done and at least make sure the refugees weren't going to freeze to death.

It may have filled her with warmth to see the smiles she knew she was responsible for, but if she were honest with herself it wasn't the main reason she was doing it. It was her way of fighting. Fighting back against racism, against the White Fang, against the SDC and every other company that abused their Faunus labourers.

Ever since Vale she had felt impotent. She hadn't been strong enough to stay with the White Fang and perhaps avert the atrocity before it occurred, she hadn't been strong enough to stop the kill Torchwick and stop the train, she hadn't been strong enough to save Cardin, and she hadn't been strong enough to kill Adam. Knowing that her weakness was the catalyst for everything that had happened had meant she felt solely responsible for everything that had happened. She'd had so many chances to stop it and she'd failed.

In the relative silence of the refugee camp a few hours outside of Vale, she'd had nothing but time to think. Since her parent's deaths nightmares had been a common occurrence, her crimes with the White Fang had enhanced their potency, and the events of Vale had only given her subconscious fresh ammunition to torment her with. They were bad, but if you dealt with anything often enough, it became somewhat bearable. It was never pleasant to wake panicked and sweating, or even worse filled with unquenchable guilt, but she could deal with it.

It had been her conscious mind, replaying all her actions in the past few years that had led to the attack on Vale, all the ways that she could have prevented it that had caused her to completely miss what had been happening to her partner. But internal strife always invariably leads to selfishness.

On landing in Atlas, she had waited to ensure that Weiss was ok and left. Despite how much she enjoyed the novelty of having actual friends, first and foremost, she had always been a solitary person. At Beacon she had been content to sequester herself away into a far corner of the library to study rather than the designated areas and though her team always managed to find her, for a time the solitude had helped her find her inner peace.

That was what she had sought. As impressive architecturally as Atlas was it was not a peaceful city. It thronged with the bustle of people going about their daily grind, always rushing this way and that, the traffic clogging the air. Whereas in Vale you could have an entire forest to yourself after jogging a few hours, the city of Atlas extended for miles and beyond that were farms, mines, and other industrial plants. The people of Vale were forced to coexist with nature; the people of Atlas defeated it.

But a long way outside the cities there were still some forests, not thick like Vale's, the trees had smaller leaves or needles, their branches were often bowed under the weight of snow, but they had a tranquillity that was simply not available in the bustling metropolis and they were safe.

It was always a novel experience to not have to be prepared for red eyes to appear at every moment. She may not have agreed at all with the way it had been achieved but driving the Grimm back should surely have been a goal for every country on the planet.

While meditating in the forest, surrounded by silence of snow, the small brooks bubbling, hundreds of different species surviving, she'd found the semblance of repose she had been looking for. She'd finally had the time to analyse what had occurred, to think about it, and try and work out her place in the new world.

She was no longer a terrorist and it was unlikely she was going to be a huntress anymore, instead she was a soldier. The White Fang may very well have improved the lives of some of the Faunus who had been trapped inside Vale, but they had undoubtedly worsened countless more. It was her duty to oppose them in any way she could.

If called upon she would fight them. If she had the chance to face Adam again, this time she would win, if she saw Torchwick she would not extend the hand of mercy towards him, the same for anyone else who aligned the perverted goals of the White Fang with their own.

The path of a huntress required her to make many promises to herself and to others. The most important was what Ozpin had tried to impress on her ̶ ̶  _as a huntress your first task is to defend the people who cannot defend themselves ̶ ̶_ but in that deserted forest surrounded by peace she had taken another old saying into her heart.  _Mercy to the guilty is treason to the innocent._

Those who died, Sun, Jaune and so many others, those who were wronged by the White Fang, deserved justice, and if it was her hand that was required to deliver it, so be it. She had returned to Atlas full of righteous energy finally having worked out a way of redeeming her past sins. Every morning she had left the hotel before the sun was up and only returned as night fell, putting every ounce of her energy into helping the refugees, but now she saw that had only meant she hadn't had any left for one even closer to her who needed it just as much.

Blake knew she had found a way to cope, Yang obviously hadn't. The brave girl who often sacrificed everything when she knew others needed it had not had the support she needed.

"Oh Yang," Blake said sadly looking down at the shell of the girl on the floor. "We're both adults, it wasn't your fault any more than it was mine, we're both equally responsible." She carefully pried the bottle out of Yang's hand, hating at how Yang flinched at her touch, put it out of harm's way and sat next to her partner leaving a few inches of space between them.

"You've been doing this a lot haven't you, going out, looking for someone," Blake spoke while staring at the wall opposite. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yang lower her head again; it almost confirmed what she had come to believe. "And I don't think you particularly wanted to." Yang shook her head slightly. "Then why?"

The answer to her question was a long time in coming and when it came it was so soft her ears almost missed it.

"It made me feel good about myself, I could go to a club and I would be the centre of attention. I didn't have to think. I could forget I was such a screw up. Just for the night. And I was lonely."

"You're not a screw up. But why didn't come to me?"

The air was filled with a harsh laugh then. It was not a joyous laugh but cruel. "You weren't there. How many times have we spoken since coming here, what five? You've obviously got your own stuff going on, Ruby's got Weiss. I had to sort things out by myself."

Yang's words had twisted the knife already in her gut. "Is that what you're doing, sorting things out? Because it doesn't look like it. Yang I'm not Ruby, I'm not your little sister. You don't need to shelter me from the world. If you really wanted to you could have called me, I would have dropped everything to help you. You're my partner Yang, my friend; I thought we were meant to be equals.

"Look I know I've messed up. I should have noticed something was wrong, but I'm not good at this, at people. I've never had to look out for someone else before, not like this. I've never really had many friends. I got too caught up in what I was doing and didn't look around. But that's no excuse for you not asking for help. I thought you got over that when you told me about your childhood; you don't have to be strong all the time around me. We're in this together, nothing you ever tell me which change that."

"What about fucking you when you were too drunk to say no?" Yang spat at her, or more likely at herself.

Blake turned to face her. "Don't be ridiculous. I may not remember much from last night, but I remember you'd had at least as much to drink as me, if not more. If I wasn't in a state to say no, you weren't either. What happened, happened and both of us are to blame."

"But you're not gay! You wouldn't have said yes if you weren't drunk, I should have known that no matter what."

That statement annoyed Blake than almost anything else Yang had said, it appeared she was determined to shoulder all of the responsibility.

"How can you define who I am? What do you actually know about me? I've never enjoyed talking about myself but here it goes. In my whole life, I've been in one serious relationship, one that started and ended badly. You're only the second person that I've had sex with. I'm almost entirely unexperienced, but I know enough about my body to know I enjoyed it last night.

"Would I have said yes if I was sober, probably not? But alcohol lowers inhibitions; there must have been something there for me, as there must be for you. I like you Yang, you're the most important person in the world to me, but I probably would have said no because I've always been scared of change and I wouldn't have wanted to ruin that," she looked Yang in her still red eyes and spoke from the heart. "Yang, tell me honestly, do you like me like that, or was it just a mistake?"

Blake's stomach twisted as she waited for Yang to answer. She saw the gears working behind Yang's eyes as she tried to work out what to say.

"Blake… look I don't want to ruin things between us either, but I do. I haven't known for long, only when I thought I lost you in Vale and you came back. When I was cleaning your wounds I realised just how special you were to me. I didn't want to say anything at the time and afterwards… you were busy… and it was easier to ignore." Yang blew out her cheeks. "I guess it's out there now. Not exactly how I would have wanted to tell you."

Her heart fluttered erratically at every word of Yang's confession, but it had confirmed what she had thought. In her centre a brief glimmer of hope stirred into life. As bad as her previous relationship had ended, as long as she didn't look at the bigger picture, there were plenty of good memories from it. There was something magical about seeing the glimmer in someone else's eye and knowing that they desired you.

But she and Adam had never been equals. They had never had the foundation that a real relationship required. She had been too young and they had both been haunted by grief. Looking back it was obvious that it had been doomed from the start, even discounting Adam's nature.

With Yang she had a chance. They were equals; they faced the same challenges from the same position. They had both been trainee huntresses, now they were both soldiers and through Yang she had gained a little sister, one who they both cared for immensely.

And Yang was… Yang. She was by no means perfect, but none of them were. She was quick to anger and when roused her temper was scary. But in other ways she was so gentle, anyone who saw her with Ruby would be unable to do anything other than smile, to her friends she was fiercely loyal. And of course there was that time when Yang had so carefully patched her wounds. Yang was just special.

"Yang, I like you too." Yang's head snapped round to meet hers, red eyes widening with shock.

"You… do?" Her voice was questioning and Blake nodded confirmation. Yang's white teeth became visible as the mask of despair and resignation that she had been wearing lifted. "Fuck Blake. I never… I... so does this mean you want to… you know, go out with me?"

Blake longed to say yes, to allow herself to explore what she and Yang could be together. She longed to take Yang's tear stained face in her hands, wipe the mascara away and kiss her.

But she couldn't, at the moment Blake knew there just weren't the foundations in place to build a lasting relationship. They were both in a bad place, but Yang's was especially dark and the light this new path in their relationship would throw out would be unable to banish the shadows that plagued her.

She shook her head. "Yang we can't."

"Oh," that was the only reply to her statement as Yang looked at her knees again.

"I mean I want to, really want to, but not now. We both need to sort ourselves out, before we can do this. I'll be there to support you every step of the way just as your partner, not your girlfriend."

"What do you mean sort ourselves out, I'm fine. Blake with you here I'm better than fine. I ̶ ̶ "

"You're not fine Yang," her voice cut angrily across her partners. "How can you even say that and pretend that you believe it? Because I don't believe you do. Have a look around," she gestured around the dark room that was bereft of almost any personal signs, the bottle of whiskey on the floor. "Does this look fine? How much do you drink a day? Your rooms reek of alcohol. How many people have you slept with in the past few weeks? If you want to do that, that's fine with me, but you didn't do it at Beacon. That tells me it's linked to everything else. Yang I will be here for you no matter what, I want to help you get through this, but first you have to admit it to me."

"So we're just meant to hold off until I get my shit together. Fine it's done. Blake I was lonely, that was it. If you're around I won't be. So there we go, problem solved."

Yang's stubbornness was so infuriating that Blake found herself on her feet. "The problem is not solved."

Yang joined her standing up, though slightly more unsteadily, having to use the wall for leverage. Her voice was just slightly louder than Blake's had been. "And how can you tell me that!"

"Because I've done this before!" Blake shouted turning her back on Yang, before all the energy seemed to leave her body, her shoulders that had been tensed with restrained anger drooped. When she spoke to the wall her voice was a shadow of what it had once been. "I've done this before."

She managed to find her way to the bed and sit down, resting her elbows on her knees and her forehead in her hands. Her mind filled with plethora of memories. "I've done this before," she repeated a third time under their assault.

The mattress shifting informed her of Yang sitting down next to her. "Blake, you don't have to…"

A warm hand traced the vertebrae in her spine and the comfort contained in the smooth tone gave her a hint of what it must have been like to be Ruby. To have a big sister who was always there to give you comfort when you needed it most.

"I want you to understand," her voice still wasn't strong but it was resolute. "I haven't really told you all that much about my life, mainly because it's easier not to. I've told you both my parents were prominent Faunus activists and they took me to a lot of rallies before, but I haven't told you about the last time."

 _The last time._  Blake could see it so clearly. She'd been brimming with excitement; she always was before a march. She and her parents had stayed in a hotel the night before. Her dad had been busy arranging the final details so she and her mum had stayed up past midnight making placards.

They'd had a romantic comedy playing in the background but neither of them had really been watching it. Instead they'd talked ̶ ̶ as a younger child her parents had been strict, always making sure her chores and homework were complete before being allowed to play. But as she grew older and more responsible her relationship with her parents had morphed into one of mutual respect and friendship.

They hadn't talked about anything important, just their designs on the placards, what they wanted to do afterward the march, and with a smile whether anyone had caught Blake's eye. Her response to that had been a thrown pillow. She'd always been rather shy, it took her a while to warm to people, consequently she only had a handful of friends but her mum was without a doubt her best one.

Her dad had returned to their room just in time to receive a misguided pillow to the face which her mum had very unjustly blamed her for, unsuccessfully hiding her laughter behind her hand. Her dad's retribution had involved things no teenager wanted to witness their parents doing, but it was an evening that glowed in her memory. A beacon before the darkness.

For a young child the marches had been almost intoxicating. The atmosphere positively buzzed, sparks seeming to fly between the protestors. She had competed to shout the loudest; unleashing the chants she'd spent the entire journey practicing with her parents.

But she'd never been an unknowing participant like so many children at protests, merely there to provide a cute photo for papers. Her parents had gone to great lengths to inform of the reasons behind what they were doing. But they had always tried to present even the most damning evidence impartially and even offering whatever counter-evidence they could find. They wanted to ensure that if she attended the marches it was because she thought they were right, not just because her parents did.

She had. Even as a child she was certain that the world had to change, that she had to be one of the ones to change it. She had approached every protest with vigour, righteous in her belief. So righteous that not even the angry shouts from those watching or even rival marches from anti-Faunus groups could deter her.

The one thing her parents and the others who ran the White Fang always made sure of was that there was no retaliation. They knew only too well whose side the authorities would come down on. They were barely tolerant of their marches as it was, heavily restricting where they could go, and they were always looking for an excuse to stop them entirely.

The peaceful White Fang had known that they would never be able to make any meaningful progress with violence. Shouts were met with chants, old fruit, refuse, and even stones were met with nothing but determination. They faced down shield walls with nothing more than ideas and she was often right at the front.

The last protest had been the same. The atmosphere. The chants. The placards. They had been walking over a narrow bridge when her life was changed forever.

Both her and her parents had been toward the middle of the march, well over a hundred people in front and behind her. She hadn't really been able to see anything past the rows and rows of people and her mum had made sure to keep her firm grip on her free hand.

They'd been cresting the bridge when her proudly displayed ears picked up a series of rapid bangs which were audible even over the noise of the protest. Screams had replaced shouts for equality and they only got worse.

Those in front of her tried to turn back, those behind panicked and ran in every direction. In the crush of bodies a teenager could be nothing more than a passenger and her mother's hand had been ripped from her grasp. The last sight she had of her mum was of her terrified face as she reached out for her daughter.

It was something she was still able to recall with perfect clarity. Her mum's terror and desperation; her dad only just beginning to turn toward her. The smell of sweat and of the water rising from the river underneath. The pain as her slender body was crushed, her forearm broken where it had been caught on a railing. The tragedy had been imprinted on her mind so thoroughly she was sure it would never fade.

"…when I woke up, I was in hospital, surrounded by others and yet alone. My mum and dad should have been there. I was hurt and they were doctors. They'd always been there for me straight away, whenever I cried they'd fix me up and kiss me better. And for the first time in my life, they weren't. Waking up to that was… I wouldn't wish on anyone. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't want to believe it. I started crying then and one of the nurses put me back under.

"It took Adam hours to find me; I had no ID, no way for them to know who I was and they were snowed under. The railings on the bridge had collapsed and hundreds had been injured. They may have been Faunus, but no real doctor would turn away anyone who was hurt. They had time to set my arm and not much else, there were others in far more need.

"Not all of them made it. My parents among them," her delivery of that statement was entirely flat and toneless, before heating with anger. "Twenty seven people died, they were murdered, and I can bet you've never even heard of it! Do you want to know what my parents and the rest of them got? Two inches in the paper on page six! Twenty seven people and page six! I suppose I shouldn't say people, they were Faunus who cares right?

"And no one was ever fucking prosecuted for firing on a peaceful march, no one. For killing twenty seven people. My mum and dad. The police barely even bothered investigating. Adam broke into their station a few months later; the report was only two hundred pages long. Less than ten pages per person, that's what we we're worth!"

"Blake…" Yang sounded as if she was going to start crying again. "I'm so sorry… you don't have to go into this."

"No, I need you to understand. I did not deal with it well. I still haven't in many ways, I'm still angry, I still can't face crowds. But back then I was much worse; I was depressed, I was furious. I started drinking, a lot." Though slightly blurred eyes Blake looked towards the whiskey bottle making sure Yang caught the gesture.

"It made things so much simpler. When drinking you can live in the present, you don't have think about what happened. As long as you let yourself never drop off, it's even better. I also had meds for my arm; together they helped me ignore just how much I was hurting.

"So Yang I understand you perfectly. I've done it." The room was filled with her anger again. "And do you want to know what the worst thing I did when I was drunk was. The absolute worst thing. I fucked the murderous psychopath who slaughtered everyone in Vale! If you regret some of the people you've woken up with, think about that. I fucked him and I didn't even see who I was fucking. I was blind to it.

"Adam's five years older than me, he was drinking too, but it doesn't make it any better. I wasn't sixteen, by law he raped me, I know that now, but at the time I thought I loved him. You know what I probably did, but only because I didn't know who he was. I ev ̶ ̶ "

Her mind seized up. It simply refused to tread along the path that had for so long been purposefully abandoned.

"Blake?" Yang leant forward to get a look at her, incarnadine eyes wide with concern.

The word provided the catalyst to allow herself to pull away from the darkness. She forced herself to go on; she was putting herself through this for a reason. When she spoke again her voice was not strong but it was firm.

"Our relationship was built entirely on loneliness, despair, and alcohol. Sound familiar? It messed me up for a long time and it was only ever going to end one way. But I never knew just how unstable he was. I couldn't see it through my need. All because I was really in a bad place. Just like you are. I'm not going to make the same mistakes twice or allow you to make them.

"So Yang, here's how  _us_ is going to work." Blake turned to Yang and ignored the tears of empathy that were lengthening the steaks on Yang's cheeks. "I would like nothing more than to give it a shot. It might work out, it may not. But it is only going to happen one way. If you don't want to do it this way, I'll still be here for you, but  _us_ will not happen.

"First you stop drinking. And I mean completely. Normally alcohol is fine, but not in the state you are currently in. If you need help or support or anything, you come to me. We don't even need to mention this to anyone else if you don't want to, but you talk to me anytime you're struggling no matter what time of day or night it is.

"Secondly, last night never happened. When you are in a better place, we are going to start again. You'll ask me out properly, we'll go on dates, do the normal things that couples do, see if we actually work together in that way, and if we do I would actually like to remember our first kiss.

"It'll give  _us_ a chance to be more than just a one night drunken stand which only goes downhill from there. So those are your options Yang, choose."

Despite all the emotions roiling up inside of her, Blake forced her outwards appearance to be calm and resolute. This was the way it had to be and if Yang chose otherwise so be it. It was better in the long run, she couldn't put herself through it all again.

For her part Yang remained still apart from her mouth open and closing slightly as she started to articulate her thoughts then decided better of it. Yang eyes flitted between the deadly serious face opposite her and the empty bottle of alcohol on the floor.

Behind the carmine portals to her soul, panic reigned. Blake knew what she was thinking, it was her only relief, the only way she didn't have to confront what had happened, didn't have to think back. It was cruel to make her choose between them, but it was the best thing for her. The only thing left was for her to hope Yang chose right.

"I will be here for you," Blake said taking one of Yang's hot sweating hands in her own.

Her loaned strength pushed some of the panic back. Yang took a few deep breaths before nodding.

"Blake I want to do it, but I'm not sure if I can. I can't sleep without dreaming. I need to drink." Yang pleaded softly and though it caused her heart to twitch, Blake remained unmoved.

"It's one way or the other Yang. If you have trouble sleeping, we can sleep in the same bed, but that's all we'll be doing. I'll be here to help you, but you have to take the first step. Can you honestly say you like how your life is at the moment? Do you want to carry on this way?"

Blake steeled herself and said the one thing she knew would snap Yang out of her pitiful stupor.

"You're an alcoholic, just like your father," she tried not to recoil.

A tempest rose. The temperature of the hand she was still holding shot up by about ten degrees. The dark room was illuminated by the waves of fire which rolled down Yang's body. The white pureness of the quilt was burned black and an acrid smell rose into the air.

Some even fell onto her arm, singing the fine hairs away. Blake gritted her teeth; it was painful, especially as her Aura was still recovering from the night before, but to flinch away would be to confirm what Yang felt about herself.

"I am nothing like him!" Yang shouted the fires of her Semblance mirrored in her eyes. She tore their hands apart and paced a few steps away, her fists clenched at her side.

"You are Yang; you know it's true. That's why you're so angry." Blake made sure not to rise to the fury which was palpable in the air, but spoke as levelly as she was able. "At the moment you are just like him. He got hurt and he started drinking and he didn't stop. He abandoned Ruby and you. But you have the chance to be better than him. You can stop right now. I can help you but I can't make you. Please Yang, for yourself, for us. This isn't you and you know it."

Blake got to her feet slowly; Yang still stood facing away from her. In her black dress she shouldn't have been able to look frightening, but she did. She could see every muscle beneath the bare skin, all iron hard and quivering, the fists that were straining to lash out at the idea that she was like the person she hated. The fires died and were endlessly renewed; Yang summoning up the energy to power her Semblance from who knew where. The temperature in the room had climbed to uncomfortable levels and Blake knew it was only a matter of time before the sprinklers activated.

Then as if a switch had been flicked, the room went dark again. Even darker than it had been with her night vision ruined by the flames, but it was still good enough to see Yang's shoulders droop and all the fight pour from her body.

"I'm… I'm not like him. I won't be," Yang said quietly, she turned back around. "But I'll need help. I'm not too proud to admit that. Blake I want to be with you, but you're right. You deserve someone better."

"I deserve you, how you were, not how you are now. There's no one better than that, you just have to remember how to be her."

Yang almost started crying, the turmoil of emotions that they had both been through this morning getting the better of her. Instead Blake found herself enveloped in a bone crushing hug.

"You're the best friend anyone could ever have," Yang whispered into her ear as she tried to return the embrace the best she could.

"The same could be said of you."

They held onto each other, sharing their strength. They were both broken, but where one broken pillar may fail under the weight, two would be able to bear the burden.

From her vantage point over Yang's shoulder Blake had a perfect view of the creamy expanse of her partners back revealed by the dress. Her eye was not drawn to that but rather the red marks the marred its perfection. Her finger traced over one slightly, finding it hot and raised, and Yang flinched slightly.

It at least lifted part of a burden from her mind. It appeared that Yang had not been the only one who had been rough. It didn't guarantee answers, but she much preferred to think that Yang had merely been taking the lead from her.

"I'm sorry," she apologised into Yang's ear.

"What… oh don't worry, I can barely feel them." Yang seemed to at least be putting on her usual cheerful front. "And anyway they show that this is worth fighting for."

They finally broke the embrace. Blake crossed to the window, changing the polarity before casting them open fully. She was hit in the face by a blast of clean, cold Atlesian air, a few snowflakes coming with it, but the open window was a fitting metaphor for Yang's new start.

Yang herself remained standing, blinking in the almost midday sun that was illuminating her face. In her dress cut expertly to her curves, and even with her makeup and hair ruined, Yang looked resplendent in the radiance.

Without subtlety Blake let herself trace Yang's figure with her eyes. The roundness of her barely constrained breasts, the narrowness of her waist which flared back out again, before the long, toned legs. But she flinched when she reached Yang's feet.

Yang's expression changed from one of pride at obviously being wanted, to confusion, to horror as she took in the blackened carpet her toes were buried in.

"Weiss is going to kill me," Yang's pupils contracted at the very real mortal danger she was in.

"Yeah…" Blake couldn't find anything to say which would make it better, not only the carpet but the quilt was ruined. Though Weiss probably wouldn't care about the financial side of it, the destruction of her property was something else, as they had seen previously when in the early days Ruby had tried to help Weiss out by doing her partner's laundry with her own. Weiss did not like wearing pink and Yang's constant taunts in the days before more of her clothes had arrived hadn't really helped that particular situation. The lecture and then heated argument had taken them all hours to cool off from.

As much as she had promised to stand by Yang's side through thick and thin, the sharpness of Weiss' tongue was just a little too thin. "You're on your own for this one." She started taking small steps towards the door.

Yang laughed. "Good one," her expression became more concerned as her partner didn't stop. "Blake… Blake."

Blake bolted for the door and Yang leapt into a sprint after her. It didn't matter who won the footrace, who chased who down the impeccable halls, all that mattered was that for the first time since they had arrived in Atlas they were partners in more than name.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

The cold seeped in through the large windows and bit at Genet's gloved fingers. It didn't help improve his already bad mood, though the security booth was heated the small glowing filaments proved no match for the Atlesian snows.

The clock ticked ever closer to the point when he would be forced to abandon even his poor shelter and make his routine patrol around the facility. That was all he knew about it, that and a lot of very smart people worked there. He assumed whatever they did was top secret, probably military, because even though it was his job to protect the building, he had never been invited in.

He couldn't even get inside. The large steel door ̶ ̶ which looked more like it belonged on a bunker than what he guessed was a research lab ̶ ̶ could only be opened internally. His job was just to patrol the outer facility, radio in if anyone turned up needing access, and turn anyone away who had somehow mistakenly driven to the gates in the middle of nowhere half an hour outside of Dione.

Glancing at the clock again Genet resigned himself to his fate. Zipping his coat up until it was covering his chin, he pulled his hat tightly over his ears and checked his utility belt before stepping into the storm.

As Atlesian blizzards went it wasn't such a bad one, it was cold but like all natives to the frozen continent at the top of the world he had managed to become somewhat accustomed to it. It was also snowing which was a lot better than sleet, at least today when he completed his patrol he wouldn't be soaking wet.

Of course the snow meant the already limited visibility that accompanied the fall of night was reduced even further. His flashlight barely managed to illuminate the ground for more than a dozen feet beyond the razor wire topped fence.

With his shoulders hunched he moved on from the gate into the carpark. Being two in the morning it was mostly deserted, though there were still a couple of dozen cars for those like him who were pulling an overnight shift. The snow had carpeted all the vehicles under about an inch of white that would only increase. Just another thing he would have to do before he got to go home.

The majority of his patrol consisted of walking around the perimeter and checking the fence every few feet for signs of tampering. It wasn't likely; there were thermal cameras covering every inch of it. Anyone approaching from anything other than the main entrance would set off alarms long before they managed to gain entry.

For the size of the facility there wasn't an awful lot to it. It took him over twenty minutes to patrol and yet most of the ground the fence contained was flat and unremarkable. There were the car parks, a few utility sheds, and the rather small building in the middle of it.

It was too small unless everyone that came in the day was working about five to a cubicle. It was squat, grey, and not designed artistically in any way. It was definitely built with security in mind and if he guessed correctly about the numerous pipes that rose from the ground, it was just the entrance to a subterranean facility where they did who knew what. Whether or not there was something under his feet was just another thing he wasn't allowed to know, even his fellow security guards from inside shrugging and mentioning contracts in response to his questions.

His nose was starting to go numb and as he did every patrol when it was snowing, he started to wish he was anywhere else. He always hated working nights, but he hated working this night in particular. His son had been coming down with a fever before he had to leave, leaving Verre with not only their seven month old daughter but also an ill toddler. It wasn't fair on her, but they had no choice, they needed the money.

With her not working things were tight. Not quite desperate, but tight enough that the extra money he made working the graveyard shift proved the difference between having to scrape by and having a little bit of insurance.

Of course working nights meant he hardly ever got to spend time with family. When he got back in the morning he was too tired and they only had a scant few hours in the evening together before he had to leave. He was missing his children growing up from inside the same house.

As soon as he was able, he'd request a shift change, or he'd find a new job. The SDC was recruiting heavily in wake of the White Fang attacks and so were most of the other major companies in response. The job market was increasing in size and though he preferably didn't want another security position as long as it was near to Dione he would take it.

With the illusory warmth represented by his booth in sight, he hurried past the last few feet of fence and stepped inside, only stopping to kick the crusted snow from his boots. It may not have been much warmer than the outside, but after spending time in the blizzard the few degrees of temperature difference were bliss.

He brushed the snow from his clothes and radioed in to confirm his patrol was complete without incident before taking the weight off of his feet. Steam rose from the cup of coffee he poured from the thermal flask Verre had packed for him. She really was one of a kind.

His fingers and nose were just beginning to tingle when the monitor in front of him beeped. It made him jump and he almost spilled his drink all over himself in surprise. Most nights were spent in entirely solitary contemplation without the slightest hint of an alert from the security systems.

"Not Grimm, not Grimm," he muttered under his breath as he leaned in close to the monitor trying to see what the computer had flagged up.

Though Grimm attacks were incredibly rare in the Atlesian mainland, they weren't entirely unheard of. Subterranean Grimm could appear anywhere without warning and a facility in the middle of nowhere might have piqued their interest. Not that they'd be able to get inside, the door would stop a platoon of soldiers. No the only thing for them to eat round here was him.

His hand went to his sidearm, but he knew it would be of no use. Like almost everyone in Atlas he had served in the military for an eighteen month period. In that time he'd been lucky enough to avoid being deployed to the north and had instead been attached to one of the rapid reaction squads that were tasked with stopping any attacks that occurred inside the mainland.

He'd only been called to fulfil his duty once, but that was more than enough. There was such a large difference between reading about Grimm, or even seeing them on screen, and having them charge at you. Almost everything his sergeant had tried to drill into him had vanished from his mind, consumed by the terror of the nightmare made real, but his body had reacted without conscious thought just as the military intended.

The rifle had sent shudders reverberating up his arm as it had poured bullets into the Creep that had been closing on him. He hadn't been accurate but he had fired enough that it didn't matter. The Grimm was stunned by the armour piercing rounds that connected and some of the more experienced soldiers had moved in and executed it. They had praised him for his response, not noticing just how much he was shaking by the time they had finished dealing with the emergence.

Of course it wasn't the soldiers who did most of the damage. The team of hunters that had landed around half an hour after them had been the ones who entered the caverns underneath and purged them. Like most children at one point he had wanted nothing more than to be one, but after his first taste of combat he was glad his parents had never been able to afford to send him to a one of their schools.

The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up as he flicked rapidly between the different cameras on the screen and he kept glancing out of the windows, into the darkness beyond the lights, phantom red eyes tricking his mind. He reached for his radio.

"Central this is entrance, have you got anything on that ping Roche?"

The response crackled. "It was in sector one, but it was only for a moment and there's been nothing since; it might have been a glitch. I'm rebooting now. Keep an eye out Genet."

The vague warning and knowing the systems were temporarily down really didn't help alleviate his increasing heartrate but at least it was unlikely to be the Grimm. They would have already been rushing the fence in a blood lust. He got up from his seat and pressed his face against the glass, shining his flashlight into the blackness and sweeping it round.

He nearly dropped it when the narrow circle of light glinted off of something in the shadows.

"Shit, shit, shit," he fumbled for his radio only to find it dead along with all the monitors. It must have been rebooting too, though he'd had no idea it was even tied to the same network.

Looking up, his flashlight tried to find the glimmer again and instead illuminated a silhouette of a person. As they took another step into the light pooling in front of the gate, it resolved itself into the figure of a girl.

It wasn't what he had been expecting, the Grimm, a group of bandits, yes. A half frozen girl, arms wrapped around herself holding her cloak tight against the cold, stumbling towards the only source of light nearby. No one should have been out in a night like this, where in Remnant had she come from?

He tried his radio once more, finding it still unresponsive before pushing the button to open the electric gate and stepping out into the cold, correct protocol abandoning him in the face of someone in distress. The girl had stopped a dozen yards away from his booth and was staring at him with her head slightly cocked to the side. In all honesty it was unnerving, she stood entirely still like a startled deer, not even rocking in the breeze that sent flurries of snowflakes hurtling past almost horizontal to the ground.

The poor girl must have been hallucinating from the temperature or something. She couldn't have been more than twenty, her cheeks were gaunt beneath her hood and it took no imagination to guess how thin the rest of her must have been.

"Hello…" he approached slowly with his arm out as though she were a wild animal, only raising his voice to allow it carry over the wind. "I'm not going to hurt you, you must be freezing."

She didn't react to his words but at least she didn't bolt. A few steps into the storm and he would have lost her, right up until they found her frozen body on the tundra. Up close she looked worse than before.

Snow had crusted on her grey cloak, settled on her eyelashes, and her nose must have lost all feeling such was its colour. What was she doing out here? There was nothing for miles in every direction, did she have a car accident and walk through the storm to try and find help?

"Are you hurt? Do you need me to call an ambulance?" One probably wouldn't arrive until daybreak, but everyone in Atlas knew basic first aid and surely there would be someone here who knew more, they could keep her stable until then.

The girl shook her head. A strand of hair came untucked from her hood and in the strong, bright lights it shone brilliant carmine, such a contrast against the white and black all around.

That wasn't much of a relief, she was still likely in the initial stages of hypothermia if not worse. "Do you want to come in? It's nice and warm and I have coffee." He sent his silent thanks to Verre again. Surely they would allow her inside the actual facility; it could very well be a matter of life and death.

The girl cocked her head again as she considered his question. There was something that just wasn't normal about her behaviour. His mind settled on an accident and shock as the explanation.

"Yes I want to go in," he barely managed to hear her over the wind.

"Good come on then, let's get you out of the cold." He didn't reach for her but instead gestured towards his hut and was thankful when she started walking.

But she didn't stop at his booth, instead continuing to stride towards the main facility. He jogged to catch up. "Sorry we can't go in there, not yet, let's get you warmed up in here first."

She stopped walking and met his eyes, with her face no longer shadowed by her hood they were a startling shade of green. The power in the gaze almost rocked him back a step. Gone were the mannerisms of a half frozen girl, instead she stood with her spine straight and no longer hunching she was even taller than he was.

A slender gloved hand uncoiled itself from inside her cloak and reached for the metal clasp that kept the cloth pinned. It dropped heavily and stiffly to the ground, weighed down by the snow that had collected on the material. His core chilled to the same temperature as the air when he saw what she was wearing underneath the cloak.

Her outfit was black and form hugging, covered in straps and hardened plates. It was tactical gear meant for cold weather which must have kept her from the throes of hypothermia as she walked through the blizzard. A long bloody ponytail fell over her shoulder but what really drew his attention was the bronze shield and spear on her back which she had somehow contrived to keep hidden beneath her cloak.

His night had just got a whole lot worse. Confronted with a threat his hand had dropped of its own accord to his sidearm. She just looked at it, her stance not changing in the slightest. Very slowly he removed his hand and it joined the other in the air.

It would be worse than useless; she could probably kill him before he even managed to take the safety off. Grimm or even squads of soldiers would have been preferable to what he believed she was. At least against them he would have had a chance. At the moment his family seemed an awfully long way away.

"Good choice. I need you to open that door," her voice was rich and cultured. His heart sank further. She was definitely from a background with money which meant she was likely a noble. He couldn't quite place her accent, but if she was working for her family her prerogative would be to leave no witnesses to her actions. Every sane person tried to avoid tangling with the games the upper class played and he was stuck in the middle of one.

The sands in his life-timer were trickling away. The last thing he wanted to do was to antagonise the mercenary who held his life in her hands, but he couldn't do anything else. "I… I can't. It only opens from the inside." He held his breath in anticipation of the painful end of his life.

Once more she cocked her head. It was even more striking now her crimson hair was visible, flowing in a wave down her back. "I believe you. It seems like something  _they_  would do. Tell those who can to open it." Her hand gestured towards his radio.

They wouldn't not for him, even if she threatened to kill him he was sure they wouldn't, but if he told her that he would have outlived his usefulness. He could buy time though, the system must have been up by now, they must be watching and if not he could use the code words to signal a breach in the perimeter. Get them to call for backup from somewhere. Backup that could somehow take down a huntress. In the middle of nowhere, in the midst of a blizzard, all before she killed him, his plan was entirely implausible.

But he had to try. Shaking fingers raised it to his ear under her intense gaze only to find it still inactive. He pressed the button on the side again, praying with all his heart for it to work. It didn't. "It… it's still rebooting."

A grimace passed over her face. "I guess it must be more sensitive than I thought," she shook her head in frustration. "It's not rebooting, it's a radio." Now she was lecturing him. But at least it kept her talking and while she was talking she wasn't stabbing him. "I must have fried it when I took down your security system. Really you always follow the same protocol, if there's an error reboot the system. They're probably trying to work out why it's not coming back on. If your radio's down you're not much use to me I'm afraid."

He tried to run and made it a whole step before his boot slipped out from under him on the icy surface. He ended up with a face full of snow and a burning sensation in his ankle, but the discomfort was pleasurable. Pain lets you know you're alive and very soon he wouldn't be.

He thought of going for his gun, it wouldn't do him any good, but at least they could tell his wife he went down fighting. He almost started crying at that thought, she wouldn't care how he died only that he would never hold her in his arms again as they cuddled up together against the cold night outside. The decision was quickly taken from him at any rate.

Incongruously his pistol jumped through the air from his holster into her outstretched hand, if his bladder wasn't weak with fear he would have been able to focus on the impossibility. In a smooth motion she flicked off the safety and chambered a round before bringing it to bear on his head. Looking down the gaping maw of his own weapon the last vestiges of his courage fled.

"Please… please, I have a wife, children." Some may have said begging was beneath them, but they hadn't been in a situation like this. As an insect to what may as well have been a divine being. With practically a thought she would be able to snuff out his life.

The goddess stood over him, looking down at his prostrate form her head cocked again. She waved her free hand by her ear as if she was trying to swat an annoying fly away from it, though the motion seemed entirely subconscious.

For an eternity his continued existence on Remnant was debated internally by judge, jury, and executioner. He wished he could say he saw her thought patterns, but the emeralds were entirely unreadable to him. Eventually her expression relaxed.

"You were kind to me when you thought I needed help. The world needs people like you in it. And you didn't try and fight. I won't kill you if you don't interfere. But I suggest you find a new employer after this evening. They don't deserve your loyalty." She tossed his pistol away into the night.

The breath that had been trapped in his lungs escaped his body. The freezing air was nectar to his nose and he swore he would never complain about it again. After today he would count every new morning as a blessing.

The girl seemed to have dismissed him from her consciousness; she stood a dozen feet distant staring intently at the large steel door to the main facility. If he was stupid her back would have been an awfully inviting target, but Verre had long since done her best to extract any desire he had to be a hero.

There was no need for him to try and be one anyway. He'd watched hunters fight in exhibition matches; he'd even seen a squad in action for real. They might have studied for years at combat schools but they were still only people.

The door must have been close to six inches thick. It would take a squad of military sappers to blast their way through it. There was no doubting that hunters were several levels above normal soldiers, but the girl didn't appear to be carrying anything other than the weapons on her back, no Dust or explosives or anything else. She spoke like she knew about the facility but the door must have come as a surprise.

He knew it was only a matter of time before she turned back to him. Very slowly and what he hoped was very quietly he began to crawl away. There was a landline in his booth, maybe that would work and he could alert Roche to what was actually happening and get him to send help. Though she had said she wasn't going to hurt him that intention was unlikely to last.

When he'd dug a furrow ten feet long in the snow behind him, he risked a look back. She was still standing there stock still, her hair whipping around her head in the winds with a hand raised palm forward towards the door.  _What was she doing?_

But the more important aspect of that question was that she had not noticed his escape. If it wasn't suicide to run off into the tundra he would have done it, maybe he could make it to his car before she noticed.

The facility's lights all around flared with incandescent brightness an instant before they ceased to function. There's a reason why humanity have strived since the first time they saw fire to push back the shadows and stumbling forwards with his hands outstretched, Genet discovered what it was.

With the storm clouds overhead absolute darkness plunged in on him and absolute terror followed in its wake. It wasn't fear of the darkness for no sane person fears the dark. It was fear of the unknown. Robbed of his sight, of his touch by the biting wind, of his hearing by the thick material pulled over his ears, his senses were truly isolated from the world.

The huntress could be standing a foot away from him and he wouldn't know. The Grimm could be appearing all around him and his only alert would be the rending pain. For all his size in the darkness he was reduced to nothing more than a child hiding under his quilt from the monsters lurking just out of sight at the end of his bed.

The emergency lights came on momentarily before burning out. Rather than lift his fear they only compounded it. Not only did they speak of something terrible and beyond his compression happening in the air all around him, the sudden burst of light had also robbed him of the small amount of night vision he had managed to recover.

His flashlight felt strange in his hand as though someone else was tugging on it. He prayed for it to work and for moments it did, throwing light at the shadows in front of them, but the respite was all too short, the filament combusting.

With a lurch it was torn from his fingers and sent spinning off into the darkness. His steel capped boots took on a mind of their own as they slipped out from under him.

His fingers dug into the snow underneath him as he instinctively tried to arrest his body's acceleration, even as his mind struggled to catch up with what was happening. But the snow was too soft for him to be able to gain any real purchase and with a bow wave of particles preceding him he slid away towards his hut.

Sparks flew out of it. Showers of brilliant motes of light erupted from every electronic device, searing through the air and where they landed flames rose. Hot pain lanced into his side from his pocket and even as he was still be pulled along by some huge hand he ripped his scroll out and cast it away, the acrid scent of burning plastic clinging to his nostrils.

His shoulder slammed into the tire of a car bringing his body to an abrupt halt. The white of agony danced in front of his eyes and he let out a guttural moan of anguish. When his brain could once more form coherent thoughts he realised he could see.

His security booth was cheaply built and the fires consumed it greedily. In their dancing, flickering light the power of sight was returned to him. The girl, no the huntress, stood where she had always been. Whatever was happening was her doing but it was entirely beyond his comprehension.

Semblances he could understand. They let people be stronger, move faster, even clone themselves, and do other incredible things. Some of the Dust users he had seen in videos could create bursts of fire and ramparts of ice. But whatever was happening was not Dust.

If it was Dust it would have been explainable. He could have seen the remnants of it in the air and he would have been satisfied. Whatever she was doing was entirely invisible and all the more terrifying because of it. He was nothing but a child's plaything to her, one she could break at any moment.

As the roof of his small booth collapsed and sent sparks skyward he saw he had been mistaken. The huntress was not standing before the door, she was floating. Through the snow it was hard to tell but her legs had been drawn up slightly until she remained suspended in the air a few inches from the ground. If there was one thing that almost drove him beyond the edge of reason that was it, people couldn't fly, but she could.

The car behind him started to slide and he went with it. Screeches rose as every vehicle in the parking lot, tonnes of manufactured metal, started to scrape along the snow covered asphalt all propelled by whatever was happening.

A snap louder than anything so far shot into the air. A small crack had begun snaking its way through the reinforced concrete bordering the security door.

The huntress screamed. Long and piercing, it burst forth into the night and echoed off the vault of the heavens above.

The cars and vans were lifted from the ground and sent tumbling in an eruption of impacts through the air. The pillars holding the fence in place fractured and a hundred feet of mesh was swallowed by the darkness beyond the compound. The small security booth was ripped up by its steel frame and left a trail of flaming refuse behind it as it was hurled away.

All of that should have been loud, it should have drowned out everything else. But it didn't. The loudest sound of all erupted from the security door which would have withstood an army as it was ripped from its mountings and sent hurtling into the facility. Dust billowed out of the gaping hole as the thirty tonne slab of metal crashed through walls and into rooms, flattening everything in its path.

Genet was lucky. Though he had been caught by the same burst of magical force that had sent everything else flying, it had driven him deep into a snowbank as the rear end of the car park. From inside his icy tome, in the light of the fires burning what used to be his booth he saw the huntress drop to one knee, her right palm on the ground.

Her body spoke of absolute exhaustion, in that moment he knew that despite the pain in his shoulder he was in better shape. Whatever she had done, had taken a lot out of her. It was not surprising; she had done what he had thought almost impossible. A bunker that would have taken a squad hours to get into had been rendered obsolete in a few seconds.

The power she had displayed was mind blowing. Even though he was sure she hadn't targeted him with her  _spell_  ̶ ̶ after all if she could send security doors and trucks flying what could she do to a person ̶ ̶ he had been nothing more than a marionette to her whims. She may have been exhausted, but she was still more than a match for him.

Not to mention her Aura, while his was weakly trying to fix whatever had happened to his shoulder, her stronger one was working overtime to lift her fatigue. In what seemed like the space of few heartbeats she rose from her position from the ground and began to walk towards the blaring sirens inside the facility.

With her weapons still on her back she stepped over the piles of rubble, somehow managing not to stumble on the loose surface despite her heels. The last Genet saw of the person who had truly demonstrated the difference between normal people and hunters was her disappearing through the dust.

It shouldn't have been his last sight. Frantic gunfire and shouts competed with the alarms. Gunfire that was all too abruptly cut off. He should have run in there after her, tried to save his colleagues. It was his job, his duty.

But Genet knew the truth. He was a coward. He had always known it, some would have faced down the monsters at the end of their bed, he had hidden. He had stood against the Grimm only because he'd had no choice, but it had left him weak and shaking afterwards.

For all his training, his experience, he had never managed to master his fears. He was a slave to them. Only now it worse. As a conscript in the military, he hadn't had all that much to lose. Not really. Only his life, on the grand scale of things it wasn't all that much.

He might go into the facility where he hadn't been allowed to tread, step over the corpses of his comrades, pick up one of their discarded weapons, and even manage to fire a few shots. Shots that would bounce from her Aura moments before she took his life.

The life that was now worth so much more. If he went in there he would never kiss Verre on their balcony looking up at the unending blanket of stars. He would never again tuck his son into bed after reading him a story. He would never again feel the wriggling bundle of warmth against his chest as he held his daughter.

With trembling limbs he could face losing his own life. But he was unable to face losing his family. They needed him as much as he needed them.

The alarm warbled wildly before grinding to silence. Silence that was almost total. At night there were only half a dozen security guards on duty. Now there were likely none apart from him. He had always been resentful that they didn't even trust him enough to allow him inside the facility, now he was grateful.

Their obsession with security had allowed him to survive. He knew he would never get another job guarding anything, but after today he never wanted to hold a weapon again. In this world of martial prowess he was nothing more than a pretender to power. The world was shaped by hunters and those who controlled them.

Compared to them he was nothing.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

Ruby woke with a start. The rapid transition from the rarity that was dreamless sleep to wakefulness was not pleasant. Her body groaned in protest as the thing it needed so desperately to restore itself vanished to the whims of an outside stimulus.

Ruby opened her crusty eyes and stared around blearily, trying to work out where she was as her brain attempted to catch up. It was dark, the only illumination was the moonlight filtering in through the large windows but it was bright enough for to recognise the living area of the overly large penthouse.

Her location was probably part of the reason why her body was complaining so much. She'd fallen asleep on one of the very expensive and very hard sofas. They were not comfortable and her hand was erupting with pain as the blood flowed back into it.

It must have been long past midnight, but she'd been determined not to go to bed. Weiss was at one of the many balls that the families of Atlas liked to host and Ruby knew just how much Weiss hated them.

Weiss had only had to attend one before tonight. It had been a shock when Weiss had emerged from their bathroom, to Ruby's admittedly inexperienced eye, even in her sleepwear Weiss was the most beautiful person in the entire world. But when she put in the slightest amount of effort the results were absolutely jaw dropping.

Weiss hadn't revealed her outfit beforehand but it was more than worth the wait. Her deep blue dress had shimmered with every movement, flowing around her form, making it look as though Weiss was draped in captured water. It had risen from her ankles to the sapphire laden choker around her slender neck which was bared by her hair that had been drawn up and tightly wound into a bun.

All the other times she had seen Weiss dressed formally, her girlfriend had always chosen to expose the creamy expanse of her back, but this dress had covered her skin almost entirely and Ruby knew why. Though Weiss had finally been able to remove the bandages the skin around the area was still red and hot to the touch, in time they were assured it would completely return to normal, but for now it was a reminder of how close they had been to losing each other.

Weiss had emerged from the bathroom rather nervously, her eyes desperate and fearful. It was something she'd never been able to fully understand. Weiss was incredibly beautiful, everyone who saw her recognised that fact, she turned heads wherever she went, everyone that is apart from Weiss.

Despite the façade she displayed, one of haughty arrogance, those closest to her knew she had issues with her self-confidence. Her troubled childhood, one where her father had always compared her disparagingly to her perfect sister, had robbed her of it.

But surely Weiss only had to look at her reflection to know just how exceptional she looked. Few people especially ones as young as she was carried her innate grace, but Weiss couldn't see it. It often led Ruby to wonder just who stared back at Weiss from a mirror.

When Weiss had emerged it had taken Ruby several long seconds for her brain to start functioning again. It was still staggering to her that someone like Weiss had chosen her to be her girlfriend.

Her mind had turned to mush at the sight and she'd been entirely unable to articulate any words that conveyed just what she'd been feeling. Enough time had passed while she was dazed in her stupor for Weiss to impatiently draw her out of it.

"Well?" Weiss scowled slightly as she said it, obviously not quite expecting this reception.

"Umm… you look…" forming a coherent sentence was suddenly one of the hardest things in the world. "You look… hot."

Weiss gave a sigh of exasperation. "Really, is that the best you can do?"

"Umm…" she tried to think of a better word to describe the sense of longing and pride that was squeezing her heart, but she just couldn't. "Yeah…"

"I guess it will have to do then." Weiss blew out a breath. "Thank you." The remark was sincere, though still held a trace of irritation at the lack of a flowery compliment.

Ruby was suddenly filled with a desire to kiss her girlfriend. Her troubles and Weiss' work ensured they didn't spend enough time doing the things couples are meant to do. Often when one of them was in the mood, the other just wasn't. At the moment for them both to be was an occurrence rarer than a blue moon.

She took a step forward but disappointment flared in her chest as Weiss stopped her at arm's length.

"What on Remnant do you think you're doing?" Weiss glared at her.

"Umm… I wanted to kiss you." As it always did any stern look from her partner made her feel like curling up into a ball and hiding. She hated disappointing Weiss but she always seemed to.

"You most certainly are not going to." Ruby looked down at her toes but a cool finger lifted her chin back up so she could meet serious azure eyes. "I've just spent the last half an hour putting on makeup. I am going to kiss you and you are not going to move. And don't you dare put your hands anywhere near my face."

Weiss had closed on her then until only a handbreadth separated them. Due to her being barefoot and Weiss wearing heels she had the novel experience of having to look up at her girlfriend. As much as Weiss refused to admit it she was the shorter one out of the pair of them now and the disparity would likely only become more pronounced. Not that Ruby minded, Weiss was a perfect size, although if she uttered that thought aloud she knew Crescent Rose better be nearby.

Keeping one finger under Ruby's chin to keep her head up, Weiss leant down and ever so softly brushed her lips against her partner's. Once again Ruby forgot how to breathe. It amazed her that the magic of kissing Weiss hadn't faded. It was still there, still as powerful as the very first time. It shook her very existence to her roots. She didn't know if all kisses felt like that but she doubted it, Weiss was special and she loved her.

If there was one thing in the world she was sure of it was that. Her lack of previous relationships may have meant she had nothing to base her claim on but she was sure none the less. With Weiss she just felt complete.

No matter what she ended up doing during the day, when it came down to it, it was just an activity to pass the time before Weiss came home. Even the most temporary absences from her presence were painful. She was well and truly in love and though Weiss hadn't said it yet, the small but ever so powerful word got caught in her throat, Ruby knew inside that Weiss felt the same.

The kiss wasn't deep, but it didn't need to be. Its tenderness dictated everything that she knew Weiss so wanted to say. That she cared about her, that she loved her, that she wanted them to be together forever more.

Lost in blissful reverence she almost forgot Weiss' stipulations, her hands nearly found their way into the tightly coiled bun of alabaster silkiness before she paused. Her heart had already been beating wildly but her brush with death only ramped up the intensity of the palpations. It was perhaps an exaggeration to say Weiss would kill her if she ruined her hair, but she'd probably make her wish she had.

In compromise she ran her hand down Weiss' back, taking great pleasure in the way her touch caused Weiss to shiver despite the luxuriously smooth material separating their flesh. The gown flared out under Weiss' waist but it didn't stop her from clamping both her hands on Weiss' firm posterior and pulling their bodies together until they were pressed tightly against each other and she could savour the heat and the smell that Weiss' body emitted.

Weiss didn't seem to mind the new development, for the first time Ruby felt the questing touch of a tongue on her lips and she gratefully granted it access. The act of kissing always robbed her of any thoughts that weren't related to her more animal nature so as the kiss grew deep and her own tongue rose in answer, abstract concepts such as the passage of time completely fled from her overloaded mind.

It must have from Weiss' as well for her girlfriend hastily broke off with a start when her scroll rang. For a moment Ruby tried to instinctively follow the thing that was giving her such pleasure but Weiss held her off. The blood was pounding through her ears and she knew her face must have been just as flushed as Weiss' was.

Weiss only blushed a deeper shade of crimson when she answered. "Yes, I'll be down presently," she hung up before turning back to Ruby, with something that was halfway between a smile of pleasure and a grimace on her face. "I'm blaming you for that."

Ruby pouted and widened her eyes, not only was the accusation unfair she was also annoyed with the interruption. Weiss looked away out the window and Ruby could see her resolve cracking, she knew just how hard Weiss found it to say no to her when she used what most referred to as her _puppy dog_  expression.

Weiss' eyes flicked back to her before she relented. "Fine I got carried away, but you're responsible as well. Now I've really got to go," Ruby made her lower lip tremble, she'd like to say she hadn't actually spent time practicing the expression in the mirror but she had. "Don't look at me like that…"

Just before the last of Weiss' willpower failed Ruby broke her spell and laughed. "Weiss its fine, go."

It was incredible just how much even a few minutes of kissing her girlfriend sent her mood soaring. In the mornings she vehemently hated watching Weiss disappear out of the door, but riding on the high of the endorphins swimming through her bloodstream she knew it would be ok, they could continue it later after all.

A thought that was echoed by Weiss. "When I get back…" she let Ruby fill in the blank while she rushed back into the bathroom to check her makeup.

"Weiss your makeup's fine. You look beautiful as always." As a compliment it didn't have the panache she would have liked, but it was the truth.

Her girlfriend emerged from the bathroom, the colour in her cheeks fading, and approached her once more. "I'll be getting back late, there's no need to wait up, and thank you, you're making this so much easier." She gave Ruby an all too brief peck on the lips before departing.

Ruby had decided to wait up, she'd settled down on one of the sofas with a couple of movies and waited through the long night. When Weiss had returned at two in the morning, it took a single look for Ruby to know that Weiss was no longer in the mood for what she'd been hoping for.

Weiss had pulled her heels off at the door, greeted her tiredly and with none of the passion their goodbye had contained. It wasn't her fault, she knew just how much Weiss disliked attending the balls, from what she'd said they sounded horrible, but the lecherous part of her mind was still disappointed.

It was clear in her drooping posture just how much it had taken out of her and though she'd wanted to help in any way she could like always there hadn't been anything she could do. Weiss had merely slipped into her chemise and gone to bed. Not that she'd slept; even exhausted she'd still been awake when Ruby had fallen into the dark place her mind created for her at night.

Last time she hadn't been able to do anything for Weiss but she was determined that this time would be different, she'd had it all planned out. What she hadn't accounted for was drifting off, for a moment she was terrified that she'd missed Weiss' return and she'd gone to bed and left her sleeping.

The burst of fear brought her completely out of her slumber and she sat up ignoring the twinge in her back. Weiss was standing by the TV obviously just having turned it off. She had worn white this time, few people as pale as Weiss was would be able to pull the colour off, but as a Schnee it wasn't like she had much choice and dressed in her family's colours Weiss always looked stunning. The dozens of perfect diamonds in the small tiara pinning her hair back glittered in the moonlight. In the lunar fluorescence Weiss looked like a goddess, but a tired goddess. In the silence of the apartment Weiss kept her voice soft.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Can I get you anything?"

It was already going wrong. She was meant to be the one looking after Weiss, not the other way around. Her plan had involved greeting Weiss at the door, helping her sit and remove her heels before getting her anything she wanted. She'd already messed it up.

Weiss started slightly as Ruby jumped to her feet, determined to get back on the schedule of the plan she had spent hours fretting over. Weiss' hands were cool in her own as she pulled Weiss to the sofa and pushed her gently down on to it before dropping to her knees. The white dress had a voluminous skirt and she had to bunch a significant amount in one hand before she could see Weiss' heels or rather the lack of them. With her plan once again thrown off kilter she froze.

"Ruby are you ok?" Weiss sounded concerned at her strange behaviour.

She leapt back to her feet in a rush. "Yep. I'm absolutely fine, better than fine," the words spilling from her mouth didn't do much to reassure Weiss. "Do you want anything to eat… or drink?"

"Look I'm sorry… I'm not in the mood for whatever this is. I just want to go to bed." Weiss rubbed her eyes tiredly.

It was all falling apart, everything she'd prepared, everything that was meant to help both of them. She felt like hitting herself, of course Weiss wouldn't want to have to deal with her after such a long day. It had been a stupid plan, she didn't know why she'd even let herself get talked into it.

"Right… I'll let you get to sleep." Her voice must have carried her absolute dejection and frustration at her idiocy for Weiss reached out and clutched her wrist to stop her traipsing retreat.

"Ruby I'm sorry, you just caught me a little of guard, go ahead." Ruby turned back to her a little hope flaring in her chest. It was clear that Weiss was just as exhausted as she'd been a few moments ago, but she was putting her discomfort aside for her girlfriend. The selflessness was just part of the reason why she loved her.

"Are you sure? You don't have to…"

Weiss stroked her wrist with her supple fingers. "I want to, it obviously means a lot to you and to be honest I'm sort of intrigued now."

Ruby felt her mouth turn up, energy erupting from her; the plan was back on track. "Ok stay here, do you want anything?"

Her girlfriend's face was twisted with puzzlement as much as tiredness now at the abrupt changes she was displaying but Weiss chose to just go with the flow. "A glass of water please."

Ruby zipped off before she finished the last word. Her Semblance didn't actually activate but it was close and it was just as well she wasn't wearing socks otherwise she'd never have been able to slow down on the tiles in the kitchen. She was back almost before Weiss had started to look bemusedly over her shoulder.

"Here you go, now don't move." Ruby rushed off once more, Weiss' gratitude and query following her through the door.

The lights of the bathroom brightened to her presence and allowed her to put the next stage of her plan into motion. Despite its ludicrous size the bath didn't take all that long to fill and Ruby turned the faucets on taking great care over the ratio of hot water to cold. Weiss seemed to prefer the temperature of her baths to be fall approximately somewhere between lava and a supernova and when Ruby felt the skin of her hand melting she knew it was about right.

Next came the very expensive bath products she'd picked up from one of the exclusive spa shops that had barely let her in through the door. In normal circumstances the prices would have given her a stroke, but she wanted everything to be perfect. At Beacon Weiss had always preferred having a long soak over a shower, it had taken her a significant amount of negotiation and some bribes to schedule an hour in the evenings where she could just relax. Recently with her working so much, she'd been reduced to showers most days, but not today.

With the water foaming and erupting with the scents of lavender and roses, she pulled a box of matches out of the drawer and started to light the three dozen candles that had been placed around the room. They were much more expensive than she'd thought candles could be but Weiss deserved the best. Soft orchestral music filled the room as she hit play on the playlist of some of Weiss' favourite tracks on her scroll. Finally she manually overrode the automatic lights until the room was illuminated solely by the flickering red glow, before doing one last thing and leaving.

Weiss was still seated where she had told her to stay, though she had twisted round so she could look through the door of the bedroom.

"What's going on?" Weiss said with a smile having been caught up by the infectious mood of her partner.

"It's a surprise," she knew Weiss would probably have been able to hear the pouring water, but the rest of the preparations would be. Her hands had begun playing with the incarnadine silk ribbon that had been in her pocket as she tried to work up the courage to ask permission for the next stage. Weiss' questioning eyebrow didn't make it much easier but she'd come this far. "Can I blindfold you? I mean if you don't want to that's ok, it's just… it would make it better," she finished limply.

Now Weiss was really getting confused, Ruby could see some of the doubt and nervousness in her eyes. Weiss really didn't like giving up control to anyone, even to her partner, and blindfolded she would be entirely at another's mercy. Weiss' lips started to form the word no before once more she relented from her usual behaviour in this strange situation.

"Ok," Weiss said standing up, her gown rustling and she rearranged its lines before turning round.

Ruby knew just how much trust Weiss was placing in her. Strictly speaking the blindfold was unnecessary; Weiss had probably guessed that a bath had been prepared for her. But she'd been told to try and make it as romantic as possible and this was what people always did in the movies.

Ruby stepped in close and caused Weiss to shiver as she gently tucked a few loose strands of hair away. From right behind her Ruby could breathe in her scent, she'd didn't much like it. Normally Weiss smelled of lavender perfume and the unmistakably and completely delectable tang of her skin. Now her nose was filled with unfamiliar fragrances, masculine fragrances.

It made her jealous. She would never question Weiss' fidelity, but you only had to spend one evening in her company to see at least one guy try to come on to her. At a ball where it was the height of rudeness to decline an invitation to dance unless there was a very good reason, her mind couldn't help but wonder just how many guys her girlfriend had danced with and just how many had tried to make the final move a kiss?

Those negative thoughts were exactly the ones she was meant to avoid and she pushed them away. They didn't matter, Weiss wouldn't cheat on her. Very carefully she pulled the ribbon taut before covering Weiss' eyes and tying it off loosely.

"Can you see?"

"No."

Ruby spun Weiss round, causing her many skirts to flare up and her to cry out in surprise before raising her hand.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"None?"

That was right, Ruby peered a little more closely but Weiss' eyes seemed to be completely hidden. There was another way to check, she leant in and gave Weiss a quick kiss on the lips. The jolt that passed through her partner's body told her that she hadn't been expecting it. The soft flesh tasted of cherry lipstick and wine.

Weiss really wasn't a big drinker, but at social gatherings like that Ruby supposed it was expected of her. Personally she couldn't stand the taste of wine, it was just juice that had been ruined. She was completely unable to fathom why some people paid thousands of lien for a single bottle.

Mindful of how quickly these situations could run away from the pair of them, she kept the kiss a quick one and thoroughly enjoyed the sight of Weiss blindly trying to follow her lips to keep in contact.

"Ruby," Weiss sounded annoyed, but it was the fun kind of annoyed and Ruby just laughed.

"Good, you really can't see. Now come on."

Taking her hand she led Weiss towards the bathroom, ready to catch her if her usual grace and poise abandoned her. The bathroom had been filled by a plethora of competing smells that somehow managed to complement each other. The scents from the water were joined by the various odours being released by the candles; together with the classical music and the light from the flames they had transformed the bathroom into an environment that could only be described as tranquil. It was exactly as she'd envisaged, it was perfect.

She guided Weiss into the centre of the room before removing her blindfold and zipping back round to the front so she could witness Weiss' first expression. It didn't disappoint. If there was a word that described a facial expression that conveyed surprise, wonder, disbelief, happiness, and gratitude, she would have used that. The expression alone made it all worth it, she just stood there grinning while Weiss tried to gather her thoughts.

"Ruby… this is… this is incredible." She looked round the room still shaking her head. "You didn't have to go through this much trouble."

"Of course I didn't, but I wanted to. Weiss you're the most amazing person in the world, you deserve this and so much more."

The statement seemed to rob Weiss of the power of elocution once more. Since first getting to Beacon Weiss always had trouble believing that people would do nice things for her out of the kindness of their hearts. Even the smallest favours had her searching for a hidden catch. She'd gotten better but something like this must have caught her off guard. Ruby resolved to keep spoiling her girlfriend until she got used to it and even then she wouldn't stop, if the giddy feeling in her stomach was anything to go by.

"Ruby… thank you." There were small tears forming in the corner of her round azure eyes.

"You're welcome," Ruby said cheerfully pecking Weiss on the lips again. "Now do you want something to eat? I had the kitchen send up a chocolate cheesecake earlier, it's waiting for you," she tried to make it sound as enticing as possible, but Weiss still seemed to check her figure in the mirror before answering.

"I suppose I've probably burned off that many calories tonight. That sounds lovely, only a small slice though."

"Coming right up madam," she dropped into a curtsy which Weiss gave an approving nod to, that only improved her already fantastic mood; she knew she'd get it right eventually.

When she got back with the guilty treat and another glass of water, Weiss was running her fingers through her hair after freeing it from its entrapment. Weiss' hair was incredible, it ran down her back like liquid platinum and she knew it was as soft as velvet. It wasn't really all that surprising with the amount of time Weiss put into maintaining it, she even rivalled Yang on that front.

Weiss must have seen her reflection for she turned round, plucking a spot of red off the bubbles floating lackadaisically on the steaming water. "Ruby what's this?"

Ruby put her burdens down on the edge of the bath before answering the rather obvious question. "It's a petal."

"But it feels like one of yours." Weiss said rubbing it between her fingers.

"Well yeah, where else can get a couple of hundred rose petals?"

"A florist."

She'd thought of that but didn't want to have to spend a few hours plucking the flowers, her way was much easier.

"They come in bags," Weiss deadpan tone and delivery robbed her of her satisfaction at beating the system.  _That probably would have been easier_.

"Please don't tell me you ran round in a circle collecting them up," the flush of embarrassment was enough to tell her the truth that was exactly what she had done. Weiss shook her head. "You dolt, but I much prefer these, they smell like you." This time it was Weiss who kissed her. "Now do you mind helping me out of my dress? It was a nightmare to get into earlier."

Weiss turned around and Ruby very carefully unlaced it. When it was loose enough to slip down and expose Weiss' bare shoulders she beat a hasty retreat. "I'll be right out here if you need anything."

"Thank you, this means so much to me." Weiss almost looked like she was going to start crying again as she closed the door.

It was great that Weiss was so thrilled by everything she'd prepared. She'd like to have said everything had been done entirely selflessly for her girlfriend's benefit, but that would have been a lie. It was equally for hers, her therapist had been the one who suggested it initially.

After suffering through almost another week of tormented nights after striking Weiss she'd finally relented and admitted it was impossible to go on like she had been. It was an incredibly hard thing to come to terms with.

As much as she would have preferred it otherwise, mental illness had a stigma attached to it. In most circles it was better to simply ignore it, say the person was just choosing to be that way for the attention, and if they wanted to they could get over it with a snap of their fingers. In such a cruel world depression was often met with derision and to her shame she had subconsciously absorbed much of the world's opinions.

You went to a shrink when you were completely messed up. When the actual doctors at a hospital decided you weren't really ill, you just needed to get over your delusions. It was unfair but that was the way too many people saw it. If you broke your arm you'd have a line of people ready to take you to hospital, if you didn't have a physical ailment there would likely be an absence of sympathy.

Luckily she'd had plenty of that, though Weiss was the only one who really knew what had been going on with her, Weiss had been nothing but supportive. Without Weiss' strength her own mind would have likely frayed much sooner and she certainly never would have had the courage to ask for help on her own. Before Weiss brought up the issue of her seeing a therapist she'd been determined to struggle through it by herself. If she could fight Grimm, surely she'd be able to fight the monsters her mind created. It had been naïve; there were some monsters weapons couldn't cut.

Weiss had actually made the time to take her to her first appointment. It was just as well, her nerve induced nausea was so severe she would have seriously struggled to even get through the door. Doctor Sampson's office was located in one of Atlas' many gleaming office towers and when they stepped out of the lift and Weiss informed the receptionists they'd arrived she'd half expected them to laugh at her for being a freak. Of course they hadn't, but that was the depth that world's view of mental issues had sunk into her.

While they'd waited for her appointment she'd seriously considered using her Semblance and running. To where she didn't know, it wasn't like her problems were going to get better on their own, but even the brief respite seemed preferable to what was waiting for her in that office.

Instead she'd clenched her fists under her cloak tight enough that she'd felt her Aura straining to ensure she didn't break the skin with her nails. She'd actually tried to leave her cloak back at their apartment; her issues were large enough without someone delving in to why she felt the need to wear it everywhere, but Weiss thinking she was being helpful had carried it from their bedroom and draped it over her. At the time she'd been annoyed but hadn't wanted to make a scene when Weiss was sacrificing so much for her, although now she was glad of the comfort it provided.

Doctor Sampson's appearance had done little to dissuade her apprehension; she looked almost exactly like every other shrink she'd seen on TV. Perhaps forty, attractive, a tailored suit, well maintained blonde hair, black glasses, it was almost as if she fashioned her appearance after what people expected. She'd approached them with a smile though and Weiss had risen with her usual grace at the sound of footsteps, her less so.

"You must be Ruby, it's good to meet you and you as well Ms Schnee." She nodded respectfully in Weiss' direction. Doctor Sampson's voice was warm and welcoming and she held out her hand to the pair of them.

Ruby took it, all too aware of just how sweaty her palms were and stuttered out a greeting. "Hi Doctor."

She laughed. "Please you don't have to call me that, if I'm going to call you Ruby it's only fair you call me Celeste." After shaking Weiss' hand she gestured towards the door she'd emerged from. "Now why don't we have a talk in my office?"

Ruby looked anxiously towards Weiss at the prospect of being separated but Weiss smiled reassuringly. "I'll be right here."

"Shall we?" Celeste took a step backwards and this time Ruby followed her.

They passed back through the reception area that was all hard wood and white electronics before passing through two glass doors and down a long corridor. The cream carpet was thick and the walls had paintings of landscapes situated every few feet. From the decor it was clear that the help of Doctor Sampson didn't come cheaply.

After turning through a ninety degree corner Celeste pushed open another set of glass doors and invited Ruby into her office. Some of it looked like she expected, the walls were panelled with mahogany to match the large desk, behind Celeste's chair there were a dozen framed certificates all with a different combination of letters after her name, and next to the window ̶ ̶ which had a view of Atlas that would have been impressive if not for where she was staying ̶ ̶ there was a long low couch just like she'd imagined.

Celeste didn't gesture her to lie down on that though, instead starting towards two deep and comfortable looking chairs arranged before a fake fireplace which due to the clever use of mirrors and projectors almost looked real.

But Ruby was still puzzled on TV the patient always lay down as they talked. "Shouldn't I lie down?"

"Well you can if you want Ruby, but I normally find it easier to talk to someone when we're looking at each other. It's entirely up to you though, whatever makes you more comfortable. Do you want to use the couch?"

"Umm… no." She took a seat next to the fireplace, sinking into the cushions and growing pink with embarrassment.

Celeste took the other one and neatly adjusted her skirt before speaking. "Now I know you must be nervous, coming here is a very big step, but you shouldn't be. We are going to do everything at your pace, if you ever feel uncomfortable all you have to do is say and we'll stop. And I want you to remember you can tell me anything, nothing you say to me will ever leave this room, absolutely nothing. If I did repeat something you told me to someone else I would lose my licence and likely end up in prison, that's how serious your confidence is. Now do you have any questions about any of this?"

Ruby tried to think, Celeste seemed nice, in fact the entire thing was different to what she'd imagined, in all honesty at the moment it didn't seem like it was all that bad but she still quite know what was next. "What will we be doing?"

"Just talking, it's not like you see on TV, I'm not going to hypnotise you or anything strange like that, I leave that to the actors. We're going to discuss some of the things that have been concerning you and together we're going to come up with a plan to help you solve them. Is there anything else?" Ruby shook her head. "Great, let's get started, now I might occasionally write something down but don't be concerned, it won't be anything bad, they'll just be notes to help me remember what we've discussed. Now why don't you tell me about yourself?"

That was all they'd done for the first session just talked about her, not even any of the things troubling her, just who she was, what she liked doing. She'd never particularly enjoyed talking about herself; it made her uncomfortable, to her own ears her life sounded rather boring and she'd grind to a halt rather quickly but Celeste was a good audience, asking all the right questions to keep her going.

It turned out that she'd originally studied to become a huntress before diverting towards the field of psychology so she was very interested in Crescent Rose. If there was one thing that could normally inspire her to monologue it was her weapon. Even if she hadn't used it in weeks, she was still fiercely proud of it.

Seeing as she'd expected to hate every moment of it, it came as a great surprise when Celeste had told her they'd run out of time. It didn't seem as though they'd made any progress, but Celeste informed her that they'd achieved about as much as she'd anticipated and that they'd carry on tomorrow.

Weiss had turned the waiting room into a miniature office in the time they'd been absent, there were papers scattered over several of the chairs and she was in the middle of a call. When she saw that Weiss couldn't even afford to sit for an hour with diving into her work, it made her all the more grateful for the scant time they did manage to spend together.

Celeste had seemed only too familiar with rigours of paperwork and had made small talk while Weiss packed up. In the elevator on the way down Weiss had supplied her with her undivided attention asking how the session had gone and had even made time for them to have brunch. Weiss had seemed genuinely relieved that she hadn't found it as bad as she'd feared and that she was going to go back the next day. It was nice and entirely unheard of to be out with Weiss in the daytime but before too long they'd gone their separate ways.

The next day Weiss hadn't been able to take time off from the office. It was harder to go on her own but the knowledge of what was waiting for her tempered her nerves. It wasn't too bad. After the first session which she now realised was entirely meant to make her more comfortable slowly Celeste started to subtly guide their conversations to the real reason why she was there.

Without really meaning to, she'd told her about how she was having trouble sleeping and just how useless she felt. It gave Celeste something to work with and gradually she started to suggest small things that would help.

One of the main problem areas she identified was her feeling of helplessness which stemmed from the lack of control she had. Even though she could do almost anything she wanted during the days, she was still powerless to do what she really desired and turn back time before it all happened. That was clearly impossible, but Celeste had suggested things to help her reclaim a semblance of power.

It had started off small; she hated how she couldn't do anything to help Weiss so the first recommendation had been to make her breakfast in bed. That was a problem; she couldn't cook, at all. With someone else watching her it went fine, but the moment she was left on her own she'd miss the smallest step that would ruin the entire recipe or forget about the thing she'd left in the oven until it started belching smoke. Eventually Yang had realised that though she could wield a scythe, the ability to cook was not in her repertoire and had given up trying to teach her.

Celeste  ̶ ̶as was proving more often the case  ̶ ̶had the answer to that problem as well. After hearing that Weiss normally only had a piece of fruit for breakfast, she'd put forward the idea of making Weiss a fruit salad. There was no cooking involved and Celeste suggested she visit a market instead of a store to buy the freshest fruit the day before. The task meant that she wasn't just sitting inside all day and though exploring a strange city without anyone did make her nervous, the thought that it would be Weiss that benefited gave her the motivation she needed.

The market had been hectic, loud, and everything else she'd expected but at the end her bags had been full of all the types of fruit Weiss liked and some she'd never heard of before but was sure Weiss would have. It had taken her about two hours to carefully peel and slice all the different ingredients and she'd hidden the bowl at the back of the fridge before Weiss came home.

The night had been long and she hadn't managed to get a lot of sleep. But the fear of what was waiting for her in her dreams wasn't the thing that kept her from drifting off instead it was anticipation.

It was sort of pathetic that the thought of serving her girlfriend breakfast in bed had her thoughts chasing each other around her head, but it was indicative of the state of her life that it was the most exciting thing that had occurred that week. When she had finally surrendered to sleep her dreams had not been filled with monsters as was the norm but had instead perhaps predictably consisted of fruit. It had been raining from the sky and she'd had to slice it all into pieces before they touched the ground, it was weird but vastly preferable to the alternative.

Her scroll vibrating under her pillow woke her up twenty minutes before Weiss' alarm went off. Fortune had obviously been favouring her because Weiss was actually asleep for once. She'd slipped from the bed and got everything ready, artistically arranging the bowl, cup of coffee, and the small bouquet of flowers on the tray.

Weiss had initially been flustered and surprised at what awaited her the moment she woke but as soon as she managed to swallow some of the liquid ambrosia that was coffee she'd smiled and thanked her. Weiss may have enjoyed being served breakfast in bed, but it was nothing compared to what she'd felt watching Weiss eat.

When she'd spent about fifteen minutes giddily talking nonstop about it at her session later that day, Celeste had suggested she do it again. It became a ritual, the day before she'd get the ingredients, and if it involved cooking practice while watching a tutorial on her scroll, and then she'd rise early and serve Weiss breakfast.

It didn't always work, sometimes Weiss was already up, though after the first few days she caught on and waited for whatever surprise was going to be served to her before leaving, other days despite her practice she messed up the recipe and just had to serve fruit from the bowl on the dining room table. Though it left her despondent Weiss always said it was the thought that counted. And while she was obsessed with what to serve Weiss next, the number and frequency of her nightmares diminished slightly.

Seizing on that piece of good news, Celeste suggested that they start scheduling her days more formally. The structure removed the possibility of her moping around in the apartment just waiting for Weiss to get home.

After Weiss had left for work she would head to the gym for two hours, more often than not her sister and sometimes Blake was there and they ended up spotting for each other. The bonding helped and the initial fatigue of her muscles had told her just how much she'd been neglecting her body in her depression.

After the gym, when Yang and Blake headed off to help the refugees, she'd have her daily appointment before walking to the library nearby. The building was colossal and was said to hold the largest number of books in the world, if that was true she didn't know, but it held the books she needed.

Every day she had to complete a short assignment that Celeste set based on something on the curriculum at Beacon. Starting two years early meant she'd been behind so there was a fair amount for her to catch up on. It wasn't all that strenuous compared to some of the more evil essays they'd been given, but it gave her something to take her mind off her loneliness for a couple of hours, and if she was struggling it gave her something to talk to Weiss about in the evening.

She actually looked forward to asking Weiss for help, even if Weiss rolled her eyes as she had to explain something again, it was just like being back at Beacon. It reminded her of the good times. It perhaps showed just how badly she'd been struggling before starting therapy that not only was she voluntarily doing homework but it was actually enjoyable.

After the library she'd go and see Zwei who was almost about to be declared disease free before going exploring. Celeste encouraged her to go somewhere new every day and together they'd made a list of the tourist attractions she wanted to visit. Ideally she'd have liked Weiss to show her around her home town, but with that not being possible taking herself was the best alternative. She was always a little self-conscious when she was doing things normally done by groups but she did her best to ignore her nerves. Finally she'd go shopping before heading back to the hotel and practicing. A few times she'd tried to make them dinner as well but the time Weiss got off work was so unpredictable it wasn't worth seeing Weiss' guilt when she came in the door to see the congealed mess sitting in her place at the table.

With her days almost entirely filled by activities she didn't have much time to dwell on what had happened. In the sessions they still didn't talk about Vale, but when she'd asked why they were avoiding it Celeste had succinctly replied they needed a solid foundation in the present before looking into the past and moved the conversation on.

There was one aspect of her present that had taken her a while to talk about. As obvious as she was sure it was to someone with numerous degrees on how the mind works, she'd avoided calling Weiss her girlfriend.

It wasn't that she was ashamed, it was more she hadn't wanted to ruin anything for Weiss. In the gardens back at Beacon Weiss had confessed to how her father had reacted when he found out his daughter was gay and now the relationship between Weiss and her father seemed to be thawing slightly she didn't want to ruin that and then there was Winter who might react in the same way.

It was easier for both of them to keep it a secret for the time being. Though they were staying in the same apartment, ostensibly they were sleeping in different rooms. Every day before the cleaning staff arrived she'd roll around in the other bed for a few minutes to make it looked slept in. Whether it was fooling anyone she didn't know but so far Weiss' father hadn't appeared at their door in a rage.

It had taken multiple sessions and reassurances that nothing would leave the room before she'd admitted being in a relationship. She should have mentioned it sooner for many of Celeste's recommendations became romantic in nature. To take a day trip and pick wild flowers in a nearby forest, to bake Weiss a cake, or to pamper her after a particularly trying day like she was this evening.

Weiss was in the bath for long enough for her to worry she'd fallen asleep but just as she was about to call out, the sounds of splashing water became audible through the door. Weiss emerged wrapped in a fluffy white bathrobe emblazoned with the Schnee crest looking distinctly pinker and more relaxed than before.

Weiss stepped in close and rested her forearms on Ruby's shoulders. "This was incredible; I can't imagine all the trouble you went through for me." She leaned in and gave Ruby a slower, deeper kiss than before.

The kiss alone was a payment far in excess of any of the tribulations she'd faced arranging it. "You're worth it, but we're not done yet."

"We're not?" Weiss glanced at her bedside clock.

It was late but the next thing was what they'd been building up towards. "No, come on," she said pulling Weiss along.

For a moment she considered blindfolding her again, before deciding against it. She led Weiss to the room that was  _her_  bedroom. It had received the same treatment, it was lit by candles, and there were rose petals all over the carpet and bed, but what must have caught Weiss' eye was the low padded table set up by the window.

The idea to give Weiss a massage had been hers, even if Celeste was helping her to start getting a handle on her problems, Weiss was still facing so much. Though she wasn't doing anywhere near as bad as her, the lack of sleep had to be taking its toll even if Weiss was extremely good at hiding it.

By her reckoning Weiss couldn't sleep because she was stressed about her job, but if she was more relaxed then she would be able to drift off and what was more relaxing that a massage? Well seeing as she'd never had a massage she didn't actually know if that was the case, but it seemed to be.

Personally the thought of letting a stranger touch her everywhere grossed her out, but Yang and Weiss had visited a spa a couple of times while at Beacon. The closest she'd come to a massage was one of her teammates digging their fingers into a cramped muscle during a particularly hard training session which wasn't relaxing in the slightest, consequently much of the last few days had involved watching massage tutorials online.

It didn't look all that hard, just keep it smooth and feel where the muscles were knotted. She'd practiced the best she could on her own body and the more basic techniques were within her grasp.

"Is that a… are planning on giving me a massage? Do you even know how?" Weiss asked piecing together the table and the number of different bottles nearby.

"Of course I do." Ruby said trying to sound more confident than she was. "Now just hop up there and relax."

"You are full of surprises today, I've been meaning to make time to go to the spa for ages and now you're doing it for me."

Without any further build up Weiss stepped closer to table and begun untying her bathrobe. The need for Weiss to undress was something that had managed to escape her notice, though she'd put a fresh set of underwear in the bathroom for Weiss, she hadn't considered that the two garments would be all Weiss would be wearing.

Their relationship had started incredibly intensely relieving the pent up lust she hadn't even realised had been growing for months, but the events that had transpired had forced them to slow down. She still wasn't comfortable getting changed in front of Weiss and though Weiss was more so, both of them normally chose to dress in different rooms.

But obviously Weiss had slipped into the mind-set that this was a normal massage session and the robe slipping down her shoulders revealed creamy, smooth skin, skin that she would soon be running her hands over. The rush of blood to her brain at that thought did its best to remove any of the professional air she'd been trying to muster.

Unaware of the turmoil she was causing her girlfriend, Weiss finished neatly folding the robe before settling face down on the padded table. More nervous now Ruby approached the table trying to clear her mind. Unfortunately at least from her perspective, Weiss had used the spare towel to cover her midsection and Ruby was left lamenting that she'd taken the recommendation to leave one on the table.

She stepped up to the table. "Are you ready?" Weiss nodded into the cradle her head was resting on.

Ruby squirted a small amount of the coconut based oil into her palm and rubbed it in between her palms until it was body temperature. Weiss shivering slightly when she first made contact made her pause but when there was no complaint she started to make long smooth motions up Weiss' back.

Weiss had already shrugged out of her bra so there was nothing stopping her from moving her hands in long slow strokes from the small of Weiss' back to her shoulders. Steadily she worked the oil into the almost perfect canvas in front of her, almost perfect because despite the great care Weiss took of her skin, there was a singular blemish.

The bullet wound always made her feel guilty whenever she caught a glimpse of it, she should have been there to help her partner. Where most of Weiss skin was a sea of smooth white the healing wound was a rough island of pink. Her hands only feathered over the area not wanting to cause any discomfort, Weiss seemed to notice.

Her voice was slightly muffled from where she was talking to the floor, but it was audible over the soft classical music. "It's ok, it's not painful any more but it does ache. I'll tell you if it starts to hurt."

Tentatively she started tracing small circles over the rouge area pushing a little harder with her palms. The muscles which had been reknitted did seem to be tighter than the surrounding ones and she concentrated her efforts on them, remembering what she'd read.

Slowly the tension leaked from the knots and Weiss let out a groan of bliss that had Ruby grinning. More confident now her palms glided higher, stopping wherever there was hardness under the skin and not moving on until it had diminished.

It was indicative of just how much stress Weiss had been under that much of her back felt like it had small marbles just beneath the surface. Massages may be something you paid for, but she was sure she was enjoying it just as much as Weiss was. It was incredibly rewarding to know it was her hands that were bringing so much pleasure to her girlfriend and that wasn't taking account of the heat that was growing inside of her.

"A little harder," Weiss muttered.

Taking heed Ruby lifted her fingers up and started to dig her palms into the flesh earning herself more grunts of ecstasy. She didn't want to press too hard though, despite how much she tried to ensure that Weiss ate a sufficient amount, the ribcage under her hands was still clearly visible. Her body's recovery and the stress had obviously been causing her to skip meals while she was at work, perhaps if she made Weiss lunch she'd feel obliged to eat it.

When the muscles of Weiss' back were loose, Ruby warmed more oil between her hands before rubbing up and down Weiss' arms, working the biceps and triceps. Closer to Weiss' head Ruby decided to risk broaching the question that had been rattling round her head since Celeste had suggested it.

"Weiss, do you think that I might be able to go to the next ball with you? I mean not  _with you_  if you don't want, just as a friend."

In all honesty she didn't want to go, everything she'd heard about them from Weiss made them sound completely terrible, but it was obvious just how much Weiss dreaded having to attend one. She couldn't do anything to make Weiss' job any less horrible, but surely just being by her side at one of the balls would make them slightly easier to stomach.

Weiss tried to rise but Ruby put a little weight on her shoulder keeping her down and after a moment of struggling Weiss gave up, giving a little huff of annoyance and let her arm go limp again before talking to the floor.

"Ruby you'd hate them. There the vilest things you can imagine, you really don't know just what you're asking."

Now that Weiss had stopped struggling she went back to massaging Weiss' arm.

"I know how bad they're meant to be, but they can't be any easier for you."

"This is my homeland, I was raised in this society, I'm used to all the backstabbing and lying. You would be shocked if you learnt the depth of depravity that the so called nobles are willing to sink to in their games.

"Anything and everything you do is catalogued and recorded by dozens of different factions. Every word, everything you eat, whoever you dance with is talked about and analysed as they look for a weakness.

"I'm not trying to be mean but you just aren't cut out for it. Ruby you're far too nice and honest to last a second with even the people who'll say they're your friends. Everyone will know you were my partner at Beacon and at best they'll see you as an easy way to integrate with me, at worst you'll be a target to hurt me. Ruby it's not worth you suffering there with me when you don't have to."

Ruby started to knead the muscles in Weiss' other arm, thinking carefully before answering. They did sound terrible, but she wanted to share this burden.

"It's not fair you have to suffer either. I want to help you in any way I can and Celeste was the one who suggested this." She played her trump card, so far Weiss had been utterly supportive in anything that might help her, most had been little things but this was a lot more important than any of them.

"She did?" She could almost hear the two sides in Weiss' head battling, the one which wanted to do anything for her and the one which didn't want to see her hurt. "Ruby, I'm not lying you'd hate it."

"Maybe, but I'll be there with you."

"You'd have to get a dress, put on makeup, do your hair, wear heels."

"It could be fun and you can help me pick," she wasn't going to let Weiss dissuade her that easily.

"You'd have to learn to dance, as a foreigner you might be able to get away with turning people down a couple of times, but eventually you'd have to accept."

"It can't be harder than fighting. Weiss I want to do this."

Weiss was silent for a minute or more, when she spoke it was with sad resignation. "I'll leave the choice up to you, but please think about this; as soon as you decide to start playing the game it's very difficult to extract yourself from it. Ruby I know your strengths but you're not cut out for this. I don't want you to get hurt and you will be."

Nothing Weiss said had dissuaded her, no matter how bad the balls were it was simply impossible for them to be worse than the first few weeks she'd been in Atlas. Her sessions with Celeste were helping, but they would only continue to help if she kept moving forward. Making the balls more bearable for Weiss was the next step, but at the moment she just wanted Weiss to relax again.

"Thank you, I'll think about it some more." She said while gently working each of Weiss' delicate fingers. Her hands were so clumsy and large in comparison, Weiss looked like she could be a pianist as well as singer and unlike hers which had been hardened by the use of Crescent Rose, Weiss' palm was soft and uncalloused. They were the perfect hands in her opinion.

With the conversation stalled Weiss began breathing more deeply again as she let herself get lost in the sensation of her girlfriend's fingers digging into the spots of tension and working them back and forth.

Gently returning Weiss' arm to her side, Ruby cleaned her hands of oil on one of the spare towels before renewing them with fresh lotion. With the top half of her body glistening in the flickering candle light Weiss looked absolutely incredible and Ruby couldn't help but imagine what the finished article would look like.

Starting right beneath the boundary Weiss had set out with the towel covering her midsection she massaged oil into Weiss' right leg. After the looseness of Weiss' top half, to feel the level of tension that had embedded itself in her very body was startling, but even though her arms were beginning to burn with fatigue she kept going, her mind softening in the repetitive motions.

Up and down, long light strokes first, before smaller harder ones around any problem areas. Then she'd dig her fingers deep into the muscles eliciting groans of pain and then relief from person under her care. Whenever her hands grew dry she'd pour more oil onto them before carrying on.

Weiss' feet were just as delicate as her hands and Ruby made sure not to press too hard, but at the same time she knew that even for someone who wore heels as often as Weiss did, her feet would still be sore after hours of dancing in them. She lifted the foot off the table slightly so she could get her fingers underneath to use as leverage for her thumbs as she dug them into the tender flesh. After kneading the soles she paid special attention to each of her girlfriend's toes, as might be expected the nails were trimmed to perfection and painted a light barely noticeable shade of silver and very softly she worked a thin layer oil into each individually, slipping her fingers between them.

She was actually a little disappointed that her ministrations didn't cause Weiss to twitch or giggle, but she guessed Weiss had far too much self-control to be ticklish. It was unfair but so was life. When she finished with Weiss' last little toe she kissed the sole tasting the hint of coconut and Weiss' flesh underneath.

"We're all done," she started cleaning her hands. "Weiss," she called softly.

The only answers were deep, steady breaths. Slowly and with a smile growing on her lips, she walked to the head of the table and dropped to the floor so she could gaze up at the hole. Weiss' face was framed against the blackness, beautiful and entirely relaxed. Her eyelids were closed and a small line of drool was dripping from her slightly open mouth.

She looked at peace, for a few minutes Ruby just watched her sleep, it had been so long since Weiss had been able to drift off even at this late hour, it made her warm to know she was the one responsible for it. She might not be studying to be a huntress at the moment, but she could still care for the people in her life.

But even a padded massage table was no place for sleep. If Weiss' tortured body was going to make the most of what was left of the night, she needed a proper mattress and a soft duvet. As fantastic as Weiss' oiled skin looked in the candlelight, with a clean towel she started to incredibly gently dab it away.

Every time Weiss stirred Ruby paused with her heart leaping into her throat, but thankfully Weiss was too exhausted to wake. In better circumstances she would have made sure Weiss skin was completely clear of the lotion but she settled for getting the majority off.

In all honesty she hadn't factored Weiss falling asleep into her plans, she'd expected to end the evening snuggling up to each other and maybe making out, the massage having only exacerbated a latent feeling inside of her. But she knew this was better for her partner and she could put any of her urges aside for Weiss' sake. As best she could she hooked Weiss' bra on without attempting to guide her arms through the straps and hoped it would stay put.

Pulling away the towel over Weiss' midsection revealed mounds of flesh captured by light blue lace, even in her sleep Weiss' buttocks were taut and toned. Ruby longed to dig her fingers into them and squeeze but instead she proceeded with the riskiest part of the operation.

Weiss did stir when she rolled her onto her side before picking her up in a princess carry. It was only fitting, Weiss was her princess. In her arms she was shocked at just how light Weiss really was, in reality she was barely heavier than Crescent Rose was; even for someone of her diminutive stature it wasn't healthy.

Ruby made soft shushing noises urging her burden to return to her slumber. Weiss' eyelids fluttered and for a moment her gaze was lucid as she looked up at the person carrying her, but she was obviously pleased by what she saw for all she did was nuzzle her cheek against Ruby's beating heart and close her eyes again.

Trying to keep their journey as smooth as possible Ruby made her way to their bedroom. With Weiss in her arms she was filled with an urge to protect her no matter the cost. In her underwear, she didn't look like the fearsome heiress of the largest company in the world, a person who could cause someone to shake by her mere presence. Instead she was small, and cute, and vulnerable.

As much as Weiss tried to hide them she had her own problems, ones she was dealing with but they were there none the less. She wore her reputation as  _ice queen_  like armour ready to go into battle with whatever situation arose, but stripped of it, it was easy to see just how much that façade was costing her.

For perhaps the first time since Weiss had come into her life, there were shadows beneath her eyes. The bags weren't deep and normally Weiss covered them with a light brush of makeup, but now they contrasted horribly with the pale skin and the scar.

She had to double her efforts with Weiss, not because it was part of her therapy, but because there was the very real chance that Weiss would push herself too far and wouldn't be able to recover. No matter what Weiss tried to say to stop her going to the balls she would for her girlfriend's sake.

It was a struggle to pull the duvet back while keeping Weiss in her arms but with somehow she managed it. Weiss' weight barely made any impression even in the malleable mattress and the unconscious moans of displeasure Weiss made at being separated from the source of heat caused Ruby to smile. Unlike most of the problems facing the pair of them, that was easily remedied.

It only took her a moment to change into her own sleepwear and turn the lights off, she'd left candles burning throughout the rest of the apartment but with any luck they wouldn't burn the hotel down.

In the almost complete darkness, the moon being obscured by thick snow clouds, Ruby got into bed and pulled the quilt up over the pair of them. She didn't like this bed, it may have been the biggest she'd ever slept in and it may have been the softest, but she preferred sleeping in Weiss' bed at Beacon.

In that bed their bodies had been forced to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, even before they were in a relationship they would often wake in each other's arms, in this bed sometimes they may as well be on different continents, but that wouldn't be the case tonight.

She rolled Weiss onto her side and snuggled up until her chest was pressed tightly against Weiss' back, one of her hands resting on Weiss' bare stomach, their legs locked together. The smell of Weiss enshrouded her in its ever so pleasurable embrace and focused on the sound of even breathing Ruby closed her eyes.

Gradually the rhythms of their bodies shifted until they were in sync. They may have started their lives in dramatically different circumstances but she knew their souls had been entwined since their births. They were meant for each other and as their hearts beat as one, Ruby joined Weiss in a deep and dreamless sleep.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

"Would you raise your arms please sir." The guard manning the checkpoint looked slightly sheepish at the request.

From the look in his eyes he definitely recognised the headmaster of Beacon,  _former headmaster_  Ozpin corrected himself, who was now nothing more than a lapdog jumping through the hoops of bureaucracy. It was his own fault really, for too long he'd thought himself impervious to the whims of politicians.

Within the walls of Beacon he had been the ultimate authority. The Council of Vale had always tried to test him, not realising he was the one who had established their seats at the end of the Great War.

He'd always hated politicians, they were parasites who relied on the works of others and claimed any victories as their own. They spent all their time arguing whilst trying to fulfil their selfish desires instead of doing what they were meant to do and help people.

Inevitably one would develop a vastly inflated view of their own importance in the world and decide that they didn't want to give up their slender hold on power. He'd seen it dozens of times before either through legislation or other means they would try to hold on and whenever one managed to, it had always ended in ruin. Career politicians were simply not equipped to rule.

When there was one ultimate power they could take their country in whatever direction they desired, for good or for ill. When there were many rulers the country would be pulled in every direction without moving in the slightest.

It wasn't ideal but the one thing they needed after the Great War was stability. So in every country they had established a Council ̶ ̶ even Atlas had accepted it in the power vacuum ̶ ̶ and they had made sure the politicians who climbed to the tallest spire, could only serve short terms.

It was that which caused them to resent him, whereas they had to rely on the support of the populace, he didn't. He had seen dozens of politicians come and go while he remained eternal. The parasites were jealous of that, just as they were jealous that many came to him first before the people who were meant to govern.

It was only logical. When Vale didn't have a military ̶ ̶ a legacy of the Great War ̶ ̶ only the hunters he trained were available to protect the civilians. The Council members would have to grovel to him for his interdiction anyway and how they hated doing that.

They'd always looked for ways to undermine him, from trying to ban his students carrying weapons into Vale, to even attempting to limit the number of applicants from other countries. Most of the legislation he simply ignored knowing that their terms in office would end soon.

That had been a mistake. The resentment harboured between them had grown until they had betrayed the city they were ultimately meant to serve.

"Umm… sir?" The guard had taken a nervous step back and was trading apprehensive looks with his fellows.

Ozpin knew some of his molten anger must have leaked through his visage. The guards were right to be worried. The last time he had been this angry, he had orchestrated the fall of the largest Empire the world had ever known.

Word had gotten around about his actions in Vale of course. No longer was he just a teacher with a mysterious Semblance, now everyone knew just what he could do. Appraising the fourteen soldiers who were guarding the main entrance to the Council building in central Atlas he could see their fear.

It was common knowledge that he was fighting a legal battle to keep control of the forces he had conscripted in Vale, just as it was common knowledge that the case against him was flimsy at best. He should know, seeing as he was one of the people who had drafted the original piece of emergency legislation that allowed him to gain power in the first place.

Either the politicians were wary of being dragged into a war where they had already been bloodied beyond imagining or they were openly taking their orders from Morgana and any others who had joined her.

The one thing he knew was that it ended today. He had been stalled long enough whilst the White Fang had been consolidating their grip on his city. Glynda would have tried to argue that he should follow legal precedent, win the battle in the courts before acting, but that wasn't who he was. She had been the one who had dealt with the bureaucracy of running a school; he'd never had the patience for it.

And his limited patience had run out. The summons by the Council was a blessing, he would be able to deliver his ultimatum in person, but first he had to get into their chamber.

"Go right ahead," he raised his arms and the soldier ran a metal detector over his body. It didn't go off. Weapons had never been allowed in the Council chambers, but it was symbolic more than anything.

It might have rendered normal people impotent, but hunters were just too deadly even when unarmed. It did however push the balance of combat in the favour of those whose sworn duty was to defend the Council. Soldiers, and hunters who no longer deserved to be called such; having the honour of being named a hunter required so much more than simply carrying the licence.

Normally visitors would have to check their weapons in and retrieve them later, but for him that wasn't an option. Umbraspem was just too powerful to be left in the hands of another. It spoke of the virtue of his former students and colleagues that none had taken it for themselves when he had been incapacitated. Too many would have found the temptation to be too great.

His sword was currently in a place where only he could retrieve it. If he were to fall it would be lost to the world forever which was preferable to someone else wielding it.

"Thank you. If you head to the main chambers they should be ready for you in a few minutes."

The soldier waved him on, satisfied he wasn't a threat, he was wrong. The security had been increased dramatically in the past few weeks and a dozen eyes tracked his progress through the cavernous marble hall.

It was obnoxiously large, like most things in Atlas, bigger was better. Tintagel Castle had originally been built by the Atlesian royal line over seven hundred years ago as a meeting place for the king and all his lords. It had been a testament to the wealth of the ruler of the only country that had stood the test of time.

Whereas they'd had to interdict physically countless times across the rest of the world, for the last millennia or so Atlas had only required gentle nudges in the right direction. It was a country that had driven back the Grimm while managing to maintain the life they were fighting to protect.

Feudalism was by no means an ideal system of rule. There had been numerous wars between the different houses and even uprisings against the crown, but for all of that they had never been close to driving themselves to extinction as others had been and had done.

The population of the snow-covered continent had not remained stagnant like most but had only continued to increase until it had rivalled the rest of the world combined. The stability had given them the opportunity to take the global lead in the development of scientific theories and new technologies. They had been among the first to start mining Dust on an industrial scale and they had put it to good use across their country and even beyond.

The wealth gained from the exploitation of their natural resources and the trade deals with other countries had been significant for those with the foresight to invest. Part of that wealth had flowed back to the Atlesian royalty and they had poured it into buildings like this.

He'd actually been here the day it was officially finished. He'd walked these halls with his companions and he'd mingled with the king and his lords. What would those around him say if he told them their  _faithful restoration_  of its original state was wrong? They'd probably think him mad.

Though King Uther had been the ruler of everyone he had surveyed here that day, he'd held no candle to the arrogance of the Council members who now sat here. They had summoned him and yet he was instructed to wait like a commoner.

The times before he had, back when he was still attempting to look for a diplomatic solution. That time had now passed. He strode straight past the woman with her hand held up, didn't slow for the guards who were only now realising his intention, and placed both his hands on the large wooden doors, carved with the sigil of the Atlesian Council.

They opened easily under his applied pressure; despite their mass they must have been perfectly counterweighted. That at least was progress, it used to take two strong men to open each of the doors and his presence would have been announced loudly over the festive chatter in the hall.

The room itself was built to scale with the rest of the building. It was almost perfectly circular, a hundred feet in diameter and fantastically intricate crystal chandeliers hung from silver chains. Light pouring in through the windows that spanned half the circumference struck the crystals and fractured into millions of beams. It may now be a seat of government but the hall had once been used to host breathtaking dinners and balls.

At the time it had been a marvel of architectural design, he'd even gone so far as to call Uther and Joseph mad when he'd seen the plans. But Joseph was always looking to stretch the limits of what was possible ̶ ̶ as he still did today ̶ ̶ and Uther had merely shrugged and set his treasurers to work.

It had taken over a decade to complete, but it had been worth it. Each of the major Houses had their own wings to stay in with their allies, and they could enter this room all through different doors and settle their grievances in a neutral location. Uther had been a great ruler who had heeded and trusted the advisor who’d helped him earn his name and ultimately his throne because of it. History perhaps didn't remember him being as great a king as his son, but he’d been great none the less.

Those in power now were not worthy to sit in the room he had created; it was close to sacrilege. They had let what accounted to genocide go unpunished and they had the nerve to look down upon him from their raised seats.

Whatever discussion they'd been having had been cut off abruptly as the doors to their domain had swung open. His shoes beat a steady rhythm on the polished floor but the noise was almost drowned out as dozens of guards rushed towards the unauthorised visitor.

They were Dragons, the ceremonial elite guards of the Council. They wore black and gold plate armour, engraved with stylised golden threads, and their helms were topped with two horns. Though it looked like archaic plate, he knew underneath the gaudy exterior were layers of composite. It would be able to stop bullets or blades with relative ease.

Despite being the supposed elite their reaction time was poor; if he'd wanted to cause the Council members harm he'd had ample opportunity. They held no candle to those who had originally bore their title  _Knight of the Dragon_.

The regiment had been formed by Uther as his personal guard. To be enlisted into its ranks had been one of the highest honours imaginable and few ever achieved it. Only one person was presented the  _Badge of the Dragon_  each year. It was the coveted prize for winning the King's coronation tournament, Knights would travel from all over Atlas and occasionally even beyond it to compete, and over the days they would hammer away at each other until only one remained. In that way Uther ensured that his guard was filled by the best swords in the country.

Now it most certainly was not. True Dragons wouldn't have let him get this close to their charges. These days it was almost purely ceremonial, seen as an easy, well paid posting. The soldiers were still among some of the best, but the true elite were either hunters or members of the Special Forces.

Of course there were some who did not live up to his expectations. One of the Dragons had attended Beacon. Christopher refused to meet his gaze. He hadn't been the best student in his year, but they'd spoken multiple times. Christopher knew what laws he expected a hunter to live by and he had forsaken the words he'd had said so long ago in his graduation ceremony.

At least he was an officer, but he seemed reluctant to order his men to halt his old headmaster. With no one prepared to stop his march, the Council were left with the rather embarrassing scene of a ring of soldiers ceding ground to an unarmed man. He only stopped when he reached the engraved pattern on the floor beneath the Council's curved desks where supplicants were meant to stand.

Rather than just the three Atlesian Council members who usually ruled from this hall, the three Valesh Council members were in attendance as well. It was the strangest thing, they had most definitely not evacuated on the freighters from Beacon and yet they were here safe and sound. It seemed as though they had not desired to lie in the bed they had made so to speak and suffer through it as their constituents had.

They did not even have the decency to look into his eyes. He still didn't know if they had been wilfully cooperative with Morgana or had merely been manipulated, but it hardly mattered, there could be no redemption for their crimes.

The Atlesian Council members did meet his gaze. There was no shame there; only haughty arrogance. They were members of the nobility though of the lesser houses. It was seen as bad form for the more powerful families to attempt to gain a seat.

Every meeting they'd had so far had been short, unfulfilling, and entirely infuriating. Every proposal of his, no matter how small had been with an obstinate refusal. They seemed unwilling to even consider any form of punitive action against the White Fang.

It was puzzling because no matter how horrific the concept of war was in reality, the simple fact was that the general population loved them. If a ruler could blame all of their failings on an external group, their subjects would be only too happy to take up arms. There would be parades, national pride would be inflated, the number of volunteers for the military would rise significantly, and almost by coincidence the approval rate of the rulers would go through the roof.

Two of the members of the Council could still stand another term. The White Fang had dealt Atlas a significant blow when they defeated the forces that were meant to have been deployed for a simple peace keeping mission. There were murmurings of a forcing a new election and yet even just giving him leave to strike back would likely get them re-elected.

But they didn't. They seemed content to maintain the current situation. Either they were scared of suffering another defeat or they were just figureheads. Whatever the case, it wouldn't matter after today.

"We did not give you permission to enter." Councillor Batista spoke from the centre of the bench. He was the one who couldn't run for another term and his dyed hair certainly hid the results of the stress of his position. His voice echoed with authority and disapproval, most likely both for his breach of protocol and the failure of the guards to stop him.

"And yet I am here." The Councillors were almost rocked back by the venom in his tone, but he refused to pander to their egos anymore. "Call off your dogs so we can get started."

The Dragons around him tensed at the insult, but that was what they were. Batista exchanged looks with his peers. Ozpin could see him considering ordering the soldiers to drag him away, but no one could miss the apprehension in the air. If Batista decided to force him to make a scene, it would be a very truncated one.

"Return to your positions." Councillor Draxler spoke from Batista's right.

He was the one member of the council native to the city of Atlas. In Ozpin's experience most powerful men were either ascetics or gluttons. Draxler was certainly the latter; his rotund face glistened with sweat even in the relative coolness of the room.

His opposition was perhaps the most unexpected. Though it was against established protocol for the members of the larger Houses to run, it didn't stop them putting their mouthpieces on the Council and Draxler belonged to Arian Schnee.

He'd actually had a meeting with the head of SDC the day before. He and Arian shared similar trains of thought when it came to the method of dealing with terrorists. Back in Vale when he'd desired to send a message to the White Fang he had reached out to Arian with the location of some of their hideouts and a suggestion that the public would be relieved to know the criminals had been brought to justice. Just as he had predicted would happen, a most visible message had been sent.

Not that the White Fang had paid any heed to it. He knew that the SDC was preparing to strike back against the White Fang on their own if necessary and his brief meeting with Weiss had confirmed the scope of their plans. It would almost have been worth the trip to the Eiszapfen just to see her.

Teaching students had given his life purpose again after he and his peers had voted not to continue to meddle in the affairs of the world. The reward of seeing his pupils graduate was very real, and though that had been taken from him, it was good to be able to talk about her wellbeing. Too sadly he just didn't have the opportunity to look in on the rest of his students who had survived.

The SDC was building an army, they were preparing to invade Vale, and yet Arian's puppet was arguing vehemently against any counter attack. It appeared that Draxler had perhaps found a new master to serve or as unlikely as it was, he had finally found a spine and was standing up for what he believed.

The soldiers' relief was palpable as they holstered and sheathed their various weapons, but they did not leave the room as he expected instead lining up against the walls. That was interesting; it seemed as though the Councillors believed he wouldn't agreeable when he learned of their reason for summoning him.

When the sound of footsteps faded Batista spoke. "Ozpin as you well know your we have spent the last three weeks discussing your claim to power while the very legality of your action has been analysed by the Supreme Court. Now ̶ ̶ "

"Three weeks in which you have allowed the White Fang to establish a foothold in the city of Vale because of your cowardice. Three weeks ago they would have still been reeling from the failure of their plans and a concerted attack could have beaten them with relative ease. Now every additional death will fall on your heads." These were the words he had longed to say to them before but had been curtailed by his good sense not to antagonise even these pretenders to power.

From the far right the Valean Councillor Hardwick slammed his fist on the wood before him. "We have heard enough of your warmongering! Have there not been enough deaths already!" The Atlesian Councillors shared looks of embarrassment at their counterpart's lack of control. In Atlas social etiquette was to be obeyed no matter what.

Hardwick had always been one of the first to try and oppose him. It had likely been him that had first tabled the motion of passing the security of the Vytal Festival to Atlas and it was him who had even suggested that they might strip him of his role of headmaster. He would be the prime suspect for any of the nefarious dealings around what had happened if not for one thing. He was almost as dense as a brick, someone you manipulated certainly but not one you entrusted anything of importance to.

"Simply put there have not. The time for finding a diplomatic solution to this issue has long since receded into non-existence. The White Fang committed grave atrocities in Vale and those crimes must be answered. If you had not fled from your duty with your tail between your legs at the first sign of trouble, and if you had seen what the people you were meant to serve had been put through, you would not be opposing me."

Hardwick spluttered actually spraying drops of saliva before him. "Now listen here… It was our duty to remain safe so we could we could continue to guide those who rely on us. I demand an apology!"

Ozpin fixed him with a glare as cold as any he possessed. "You will not get one. You are a coward. Do not try and masquerade your cowardice as anything else. You betrayed those who voted you into office."

All three of the Valean Councillors now competed to be heard as they attempted to refute the truth. It was pathetic. Some people are cowards. They can't help it, when in danger the only thing they can consider is the need for self-preservation. He had never held that against anyone. But when that person had duties that extended beyond themselves and forsook them, they were viable targets for his disdain. There was no crime more heinous that failing those who relied on you.

As he had discovered countless thousands of times. He would like to say that he remembered each and every one, but he couldn't. Time had softened his memories until only some of the most painful stood out and some of the most recent. Glynda… he had failed her, but he would not fail her home.

Batista struck his gavel on his desk, the clatter cutting through the uproar and surprisingly he turned his disapproval on those seated with him. "You are here because we extended you the courtesy to attend today. You will behave in a manner that fits your station or you will find that courtesy withdrawn." He then directed his ire at Ozpin. "And you will not insult standing members of any Council or I will see you charged with contempt in addition to your other crimes."

"Other crimes?" The reason as to why they had summoned him began to resolve itself in his head.

"We have decided to bring you to account for the numerous transgressions you wilfully committed within your last twenty four hours in Vale. First and foremost you are charged with one thousand eight hundred and seventy two counts of culpable homicide."

It took a moment for him to process the number. One thousand eight hundred and seventy two was the declared number of deaths of those who had fought to defend Vale. Those who had died while attempting to carry out his orders.

That Batista would dishonour their memory and shape it as a weapon incensed him. They had died defending those who could not defend themselves. They may have not been hunters in strength, but they had embodied their very virtue in spirit.

Hardwick was wearing a smile as Batista read out the charges, sure that he had finally triumphed over his adversary.

"You are also charged with illegally seizing power, circumventing the established chain of command, forming an illegal military force, mass destruction of property and thirty two other crimes. You will be remanded in custody until the date of your trial."

Ozpin laughed, he couldn't help it. The charges were so outrageous that he had finally received the answer to his unasked question. This did not bear the hallmarks of stupidity; it bore all the signs of complicity with Morgana.

"This is not a laughing matter; you are facing life imprisonment at the very least. Guards seize him."

The soldiers around room moved from their positions of attention, the clatter of footsteps and gear ringing out.

"Stop!" Such was the power in his voice, the soldiers heeded his command. They could tell when someone expected to be obeyed. The order was one given with the authority of one who had once commanded armies that would fall upon their own swords at his word.

Ozpin looked at each of the Councillors one by one. Perhaps some were unaware of the maliciousness behind the motions that were brought before them. But it didn't matter as a collective they had voted them through and they would all share the same fate.

"I will no longer pander to your inflated egos. You are entirely irrelevant in the greater scheme of things."

"Guards don't ju ̶ ̶ " Batista called out obviously intimidated by the change that was evident in the man in front of him.

"If you utter another word, even if it is to confirm your silence I will kill you." Ozpin knew he was now stood upon the dark path he had prepared for beforehand. Batista was obviously not one used to being in mortal danger, but even with dozens of guards in the same room no one could mistake the very real truth behind the words. The Councillor went white but more tellingly he did not speak.

"I am done talking to you puppets. I intend to talk to the ones pulling your strings." He spoke loudly into the empty air, fulfilling a ritual that had been repeated for millennia. "Viviane, Viviane, Viviane, I summon thee."

The poets and storytellers would be disappointed with such a crass ritual, but they liked to embellish the grain of truth at the centre of their tales with rings of flowers and long winded spells. In reality only her name was needed and the hope she was listening ̶ ̶ the three repetitions ensured she would be.

"We now have a choice, we can fight and have all the bonds we have built over millennia crumble around us or we can try and find another way. Commune the Pantheon."

Some of the Councillors exchanged looks as he addressed people who clearly weren't in the room, and that wasn't even mentioning the topic of his words. Behind some of their eyes he could see the wheels turning. They had brought him here to arrest him for his  _crimes_ , but if he had lost his sanity they wouldn't even have to bother with a pseudo-trial.

Someone started to sing. Beautiful and ethereal it wove a melody around his ears. The sound of it was strange. It was soft and gentle, far too quiet for him to hear standing in the middle of the great hall and yet, he could hear it.

The lilting words rose and fell as clearly as a flute and seemed as fragile as the thinnest pane of glass. They were in a language few would know, a language long dead until even its legend had faded into obscurity. Though few could understand it, such was the magic of the melody those who heard it all derived their own meaning from it.

It was the warmth of a roaring fire in the hearth. The safety of parent's home. The passionate embrace of the lover. The sensation of standing atop the tallest peak looking down. The tentative first words of a child. The song contained the very essence of life.

Ozpin closed his eyes and his world was reduced to twilight. The sun pouring through the ornate windows was too bright for his eyelids to completely shut out. The silhouettes of the Councillors' desks were still visible but he let them fade from his mind as he concentrated on the song he had not heard in decades.

With his eyes closed, the melody became even more enrapturing. It flowed around his very essence, caressing it with the smooth tones, until he almost felt weightless as though his body was drifting away.

Ozpin opened his eyes. Even though he had been standing in a room that had been designed with the intention of being impressive, it held no candle to what stretched out before him.

He stood upon grass, but grass filled with such budding vitality that it was all but impossible. It was not immaculately trimmed like prize lawn before a palace instead it encompassed a degree of wildness as though it could not be tamed by mere mortals. Thousands of flowers were spread over it, flowers of every kind imaginable. There was no organisation, it was as if their assorted seeds had been scattered from above, left to drift randomly on the wind until they established roots where they landed.

The riot of colour should have been overpowering, but it wasn't. Instead they blurred together into a subtle collage of ever changing shades. A small brook gurgled just behind his heels. The crystal clear water flowed over a million gemstones; diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and more glittered just underneath the surface. A single handful would be enough to incite murder and start wars.

Butterflies darted through the air around him, butterflies with patterns as intricate as the greatest works of men. The air was rich with the scent of nature. The fresh grass, the deep earth, the intense flowers, and the smell of the forest.

If he needed any more evidence he no longer stood upon ground trod by mortal men, he had but to raise his gaze. Though the level of light in the clearing suggested it was the evening at the latest the sun was not in the sky. Instead the moon hung above, huge, brilliantly luminescent, and whole. The sky itself was a deep, deep purple, and a countless number of stars shone down from it.

Beneath the canopy of the heavens a forest extend for as far as he could see. It didn't not exude malice like the Emerald Forest or camouflage the danger with beauty like the Forest of Forever Fall; instead like the rest of his surroundings it radiated tranquillity.

In this place he could almost forget his troubles, his rampant anger, which was almost certainly why the song had brought him here. It still flowed through the clearing, but now it was real. It emanated from all around him but most of all from the woman in front of him.

All of them had at one time or another had legends built around their actions, but not one of them had inspired more than she had. A dress adorned her slender frame, it was pure white, even its hem dragging on the ground was unsullied by dirt, but it was not a dress fashioned after any of the whims of society. Its skirt split into thin ribbons that were stirred into motion by the non-existent breeze, floating almost weightless on the air. Some of the butterflies that had been in the air had settled on her exposed shoulders and upper arms, draping her in a living shawl of vibrancy.

As she stood singing with her hands clasped just over her stomach, it wasn't difficult to see why so many had been enthralled by her. Her pale skin shimmered in the light of the moon, her dark hair was interwoven with platinum wire and fell to her hips in a wave of shadows, and then there was her face.

Her body may have been perfectly proportioned, but it was her face that drove men mad with longing when she tired of them. Though he had seen a thousand attempts to capture the beauty shaped by the babbles of the dying, none had ever managed it. The thing that reached inside and plucked the hearts of those who stumbled into these woods was not physical. It was the sense that she was unattainable. They could run a hand over the flesh of her thighs, cup her breasts, kiss her petal-shaped mouth, and whisper sweet nothings into her neck, but she would never be theirs. Any who entered her domain was only here on her sufferance.

Ozpin let her finish her song, politeness cost nothing and especially not when it was a performance that would have filled theatres for years on end. As the last long note faded away, he brought his hands together and applauded.

Vivienne laughed with genuine glee at the adulation, startling the butterflies into the air before she glided over to him. She moved with the upmost grace, her bare feet barely seeming to touch the ground as she flew over it dancing to music only she could hear. Her dress flared out as she span and twirled and every other step was heralded by the light tinkling of bells situated on a jewelled anklet.

When she got close enough, she held out her hands and dutifully he placed his into hers. Her flesh was warm, almost feverish and she smelt like a mix between a fresh meadow and bouquet of flowers.

"It's a pleasure to see you Vivienne." After her performance his voice own voice sounded coarse and ugly to his ears.

One side of her mouth tilted up at that and her silver eyes sparkled. "That's not me. Vivienne's swimming in a lake of starlight on the moon, you can see her right there." She raised a slender arm and pointed.

Vivienne… had her quirks. Out of all of them, she was the only one he had never been able to read properly. Most likely because she'd never been all there, even when they'd first met it had taken him an age to persuade her to talk to him and when she did, she was often indecipherable.

It was that as much as her beauty and her surroundings that had persuaded many that she was of a different race. But any who encountered her here had their expectations shaped by the stories that had been told to them as a child. It was kindness to indulge her uniqueness, so he followed her arm made a show of straining to see before nodding.

"I see her, she looks like she's enjoying herself." He over exaggerated his face twisting as though he strained to remember something. "Forgive me; your name seems to have slipped my old mind could you remind me of it?"

Her brow furrowed and her tongue poked between her lips in concentration. Ozpin let her think; he knew she placed great importance on names, even greater than the rest of them. Names were important; they could inspire a thousand things. Name a child Courage and they would live up to it or die trying. They could promote loyalty, love, or fear. Even today people all over the world named their own offspring in homage to that which they nearly lost.

"I like… Titania." The air seemed to reverberate as she spoke the name and any of the butterflies that had been resting burst into sudden flight.

The name unsettled him more than he cared to admit. Even Leanan would be better than that, at least in that guise she was just a capricious and sometime murderous lover. But she had picked Titania, Monarch of Seelie Court, Queen of the Evergreen. In that guise she had judged those who had entered her domain by their will or not, and if they were found lacking, driven them insane or worse.

Whereas the rest of them wore names as masks,  _Titania_ became them. Even now she stood straighter; the childish aspects of her persona had vanished, replaced by what could only be described as regal air. In the eternal twilight she even seemed a few inches taller or maybe that was just the power she exuded.

She obviously intended to act as an arbitrator for their communion. Titania would not tolerate any violence inside her forest, or at least any violence she did not start. They had all given her more leeway than the rest of them, she had largely been unconcerned with the grander scheme of things, and she was far too useful to discard.

But the main reason they had allowed her to continue to play with those she enticed was that none of them wished to forcibly deny her. All of them who could fight had sparred against each other thousands of times; they knew each other's strength perfectly. But Titania couldn't fight, not with her body. It was too supple, too weak, too Fae, he could throw her to the ground and keep her pinned there indefinitely.

Physical confrontations were not her speciality. When she was angered he had seen her drive villages mad with look, kill with nothing more than a thought. If they were forced into a fight he wasn't sure who would triumph, but if he roused her to violence here, in her dominion, there would only be one winner.

"It's an honour make your acquaintance again Titania after such a long time," he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles lightly. Whereas before she would have laughed now her only reaction was the slightest crinkling at the corner of her eyes. "How have you been?"

"I have been existing." Even her voice had morphed until it wouldn't have been out of place in a throne room.

"I wasn't aware it was so difficult." The quip was out of his mouth before he had thought it through.

A sudden gust of wind stirred the flowers all around him and swatted the butterflies away. "It is for me. You do not realise what it's like to be able to hear it all, everything that happens. There is no peace, I can be a hundred miles away and still walk through a child's nightmare. It was easier when you were all there. But you haven't talked to me in years, and the rest haven't been much better. I thought we were friends."

Her perfect performance had begun to slip. She was still the queen but the anger which raged beneath the surface was solely hers. The forest that had been so tranquil now oozed malice and shadows. The colour leeched from the petals all around him until they were grey and black.

He had come here full of his own anger, it was still boiling away, but he was being forced to confront another of his many failings. It had been his will that had disbanded the Pantheon, he had thought it for the best, not thinking about how it would affect the most troubled of them all.

As a child and a young woman she had been shunned. Back then without any control, her Semblance had driven her to the edge of insanity. The dirty girl talking to herself in the alley was worthy of only disdain.

He would have loved to have taken credit for giving her some reprieve but it had been Aurora who had first taken her in. In truth he had likely walked past her multiple times, never sparing her a second thought. Aurora had brought her to him, hoping he could help; he couldn't not in the way she intended.

The Physiker had merely concluded she was touched by the gods before beating a hasty retreat. Semblances were still awakening, even his was only just starting to stir. They didn't understand them. So though the attempted prognosis had failed they had tried their best to look after her. They were probably the first people who had ever shown her kindness and he had sundered that bond in the name of doing what he believed was right.

"I'm sorry. I've missed you but every time we spoke it made me sad because you were so far away and we couldn't speak more often." His voice had dropped into the same tone he had used when first trying to coax her to speak to him. "Can you forgive me?"

Underneath her façade he saw her resolve twitch and some of the petals began to regain hints of their brilliant colour.

"I'm here now and I promise we can talk more often. Whenever you want." It was manipulative but he needed her cooperation, plus he genuinely cared about her wellbeing.

The colour rushed back into verdant display of life as though a switch had been flipped and in reality it had.  _Titania_ danced along a thin line at the edge of sanity; she took on the personas of her names so deeply simply because it made life easier for her, but for a second he saw the hint of a longing smile underneath her mask before it vanished.

"See that you do." The command in her voice was nothing more than absolute. "Now come, everyone is waiting."

She strode off, barefoot, walking over grass and dirt she shouldn't have been able to look regal, but she did. He followed her, half a step behind and to the side. It would be presumptuous indeed to walk level with a queen.

They headed into the forest. Unlike the forests of Vale which in most places were overgrown and un-traversable, this one was different. The trees were larger, oaks and beeches, and others he couldn't put a name to. The floor was largely free of undergrowth but it was still alive with the creatures of the forest. Rabbits and Deer pranced around unconcerned by their approach; bright coloured songbirds flew through the air, one going so far as to land on Titania's shoulder and sang to her before moving on.

The moonlight cascaded through the interlocking canopy overhead, in long clear beams it struck the ground providing enough illumination for them to see. Titania brushed her hand against one and it seemed to quiver as though it were a solid thing. She repeated the action a few more times on different beams before plucking one from the air.

In this place nothing should have been surprising but it was. He even went so far as to try it himself although to him they were nothing more than light. From the corner of his eye he saw her mouth twitch upwards, she'd always loved showing off. Her hand worked on her captured shard, weaving it round and over itself until it formed an unbroken ring. Titania set it upon her hair, a crown of solid moonlight for the Queen, it was certainly fitting.

"I will not allow you to fight, not here. Bear that in mind, I have given the rest the same warning." The threat was unspoken but still obvious.

"It will not come to that. I am here to try and resolve this without further bloodshed." That would be the ideal scenario even if it appeared close to impossible with the crimes Morgana had committed.

"Good. I have never enjoyed violence especially not between people who should be friends."

"That's what I want to return to." He decided to test the depth of the water. "But do you know what Morgana did in Vale?"

The Queen shuddered. "I could hear them… everything… feel it." She turned on him, despite him being taller by almost a head she seemed to tower over him. Shadows gathered at the edge of his vision, banishing whatever light had crept beneath the canopy and all the animals all turned towards him with venom in their eyes. "She said it was you fault."

"That's a lie," he pushed as much sincerity into his voice as possible. Morgana had gone to work quickly; she understood Titania's importance as much as him. She was an enemy neither of them could afford. "It was all her doing."

In the darkness the only things that served as illumination were her crown and her silver eyes. They were glowing with feral energies and her pupils had contracted into slits like a cat's. At that moment it was entirely too easy to forget that he knew she was human, before him stood a creature as fey as any who walked. "She said you'd say that and she said she could prove otherwise."

That was ludicrous, Morgana was the one who had orchestrated the entire thing, any evidence she had must have been fabricated. But he had nothing to contradict her on his person and if Titania had been spending her time far away from people as was her norm; her information on what had caused the conflict may have only been what she had gleaned through what she had been told.

The unaccustomed chill of fear seeped into his body, if Morgana had been her usual convincing self, he may never be able to leave this forest alive. "Titania, I swear to you on everything I hold dear, that I had nothing to do with what happened apart from reacting to it."

The Queen stared at him, her brow furrowing slightly as she tried to delve the sincerity of his oath. It was one that most would not make lightly, but it held no power over him, everything he held dear had already been stripped away.

When Titania spoke it was in the form of a royal decree. "I will take both of you on your word for the moment. Follow."

Almost in an instant the shadows fled from the moonlight that burst through the branches overhead and the animals all returned to frolicking in the picturesque forest, their maliciousness banished. Ozpin felt the unknown breath he had been holding escape his lungs, being mauled to death by hundreds of forest creatures did not seem like an appealing way to go.

The earthen track they were walking along was narrow; their clothes may very well have been snagged by branches if the limbs didn't fold themselves neatly out of their way. Time, as so was often the case without outside references, ran away from him. They could have walking for a few minutes or a few hours, he wasn't sure, but the thick canopy was definitely starting to thin.

The last few branches retreated from their path and he saw a clearing. It had a large long table in the middle of it, laden with enough food for a feast. At its centre an ethereal throne stood proud. It was almost white, but its colour danced between snowy peaks and pure silver. It almost looked as if it had been crafted from a block of moonlight, and after a rueful second he had to admit it probably had.

There were five others standing in the clearing. With him and Titania the Pantheon was complete. Seven people who for millennia had dictated how the entire world would develop. Despite how some wore bodies he'd never seen before he recognised them all. Mannerisms built up over a lifetime are not so easily discarded but he had eyes only for one.

Morgana stood at the opposite end. Wearing the same red dress as the last time they had fought. It was a proclamation and a taunt. Despite how he may have been on top in their duel, both knew just who had come out of it worse. His anger boiled. He looked deep into her amber eyes, they held no remorse, only the same outpouring of superiority they always had.

Slowly she began to walk towards him, her hips sashaying from side to side and her long legs crossing over one another with every step. Morgana always chose to wear a younger visage, she liked being the temptress who inspired dreams of longing and forged nightmares of terror. Were he a lesser man every sensuous stride would have led his thoughts to more carnal pleasures, but even the smouldering sexuality she emitted could not compete with the fires of rage that were burning in his heart.

Stopping about ten feet from him she blew him a kiss and her words were carried through the air on a sultry tone.

"Did you miss me?"

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

"Did you miss me?"

The question was enough to set Umbraspem in his hand.

He didn't remember drawing it or even having it on his person, but that didn't really matter here. The few who had been behind Morgana cleared the line of fire. Though some of them were capable enough to be able to easily defeat all but a handful of today's hunters, the pair of them had always been the heavy hitters of the group. They had been the ones who had led the majority of the Pantheon's actions and were more often than not all that were needed.

It made the betrayal all the more painful. In fights he had always known Morgana would be watching his back, just as he was covering hers. Together they had brought down tyrants and razed cities. The bonds forged through comradeship often proved to be the strongest and yet she had shattered them.

Her dress glowed orange softly in the twilight, but so far she had not activated her Semblance. His knuckles were white around the hilt of his sword as he fought the urge to lunge across the last few feet.

"Morgana," his voice grated as he spoke her name.

The chimes of mirth filled the pregnant silence as she tilted back her head and laughed. "Why do you keep on insisting on using such an archaic name? I haven't been called that in centuries. But then I suppose you always did love your time in the court of the Pendragons. You loved the respect and you loved the fear, didn't you Ozpin? Or should I say Merlin."

The sound of his old name brought the memories that had been flitting around him during the time he'd spent in Atlas back into full vibrancy. Atlas had always been easier, the Pendragons had listened to the advice of their court wizard and they had prospered because of it. If the rest of the world had been the same, they would have succeeded.

But that was in an age long past, none of those people were alive anymore and neither was Merlin or Morgana. He was forced to ask her a question.

"What name do you bear now?"

Her lips twitched upwards in a smirk. "You don't know? That's precious. For all your agents and hunters you couldn't see what was right under your nose. You'll find my name in the list of exchange students." She laughed again. "Cinder Fall. I spent several weeks at your expense in your lovely academy, though I guess it's probably a little worse for wear now though. Tell me how is Glynda doing?"

The world ran with crimson and he crossed the last few steps in a leap, Umbraspem lashing out.  _Cinder_  ignited, flames being left in her wake as she dived out of the path of the deadly blade. Off balance Ozpin swung again.

The world lurched and for a fraction of a heartbeat his stomach tried to force its way out of his throat, when the feeling cleared his arm was no longer in motion. None of his body was. In the split second of disorientation he had somehow ended up in one of the chairs at the table and he was being pressed into it by an immense invisible weight. He struggled to move, to push himself upwards, but he couldn't even raise his arms a millimetre above the armrests.

Titania was sat upon her throne and was judging him from her lofty position, pinning him to the chair by the mere application of her will. The look of outrage on her face banished the blood lust that had been searing through his veins. It was the look of someone deciding what the most painful way to kill someone was.

"You swore to me you would not fight. You have broken your word." The sibilant words were actually physically painful, they lurched through the air like knives and warm liquid began trickling from both his ears.

He had. That was exactly what Cinder had wanted when she had goaded him. Rising to a taunt was something he might expect from a first year, but never him. It was stupid and it was embarrassing. But in the years since the Great War he had built up a life, connections unlike almost any he had made with normal people for centuries, and for all his power they had been stolen from him.  _Glynda…_  she would disapprove of his actions just as much Titania.

He had come here to try and make peace, however unlikely that seemed. His mouth still seemed to function and he weighed his words carefully. "You are right, I did. I have dishonoured myself in your forest but it will not happen again."

Titania stared him down for a few moments more. "No it will not." It was said with such finality that none missed what would happen to the next person to defy her. The weight lifted and the feeling rushed back into the rest of his body, including the pain in his ears increasing by orders of magnitude. The mere displeasure of the Queen in her realm had ruptured his eardrums. For all his skill, his battle prowess, before her he had been as helpless as the greenest student.

"And you are not above reproach." Cinder had been sat at the opposite end of the table and her satisfied smile transformed into an expression of pain as she came under her own verbal onslaught. "The dead should be respected." Titania then spoke in a much softer voice, more to herself than any of them. "It hurts them when they're used that way."

Ever since he had first met the strange girl, he had often wandered if the things she said were true or were just her way of coping with the world. He had never seen a ghost despite being in the same room as she conversed with one. It might have just been another facet of her Semblance, one which she could not share or perhaps it was simply enough that she believed the dead did not disappear into infinity but instead remained. If it brought her peace, there was no need to contradict her.

Titania removed her gaze and a physical weight seemed to lift off of Cinder just as it had from him, she then turned to the rest of the Pantheon who were still standing at a distance. "Sit." Much of the summer warmth had vanished from her voice and it carried a serrated edge.

The other four members of their organisation approached from where they had been watching. The table itself would not have looked out of place in any banquet hall and was set for over two dozen. Its length was definitely intentional; in the face of the very real demonstration of their lack of power here, all he and Cinder could do was stare daggers at each other.

Where they decided to sit had the potential to reveal much about their disposition towards the pair of them. Aurora was the first to take her place, neatly folding her long blue skirt under her, she nodded respectfully to Titania before sitting opposite her at the equidistant point between him and Cinder.

It was strange how the world sometimes works; he'd always had trouble referring to her by anything other than her original name. Memories of a childhood growing up in the same village had not faded to obscurity like so much else. To him she would always be Aurora. Now with people wishing to respect what they had almost lost, she had reclaimed her old name. It seemed like she had also requested a return to her roots in her appearance, her long brown hair was the same shade from his memories and even her face looked as if it was her childhood one only matured. Her sapphire eyes stared deep into his, disapproval etched there and then she repeated the same with Cinder.

Despite her disapproval he was sure she wasn't against him. They had remained in contact through the long years since their fateful vote and she had voted with him. Her voice had always been the one who had urged caution and restraint, acting as a tether on their more righteous proclamations of intent.

It was her discovery that had brought them to the point of ascension and had transformed the world into what it was today. Aurora was genesis.

She wouldn't be against him, but her choice of seat made it clear that she wouldn't be with him either ̶ ̶ unless he could persuade her with his arguments.

Juno approached the table more tentatively, clearly thinking hard. She'd always chosen for her different appearances to maintain her original diminutive and petite frame. Of all of the members of the Pantheon, she was the least suited to combat of any kind, but she had been absolutely vital to their global operations in their earlier days. She took the seat to the left of Aurora, one seat closer to him, it probably wasn't significant but it could be.

Dolos strutted up immediately on her tail, pulling out the seat to the right of Aurora and lounging in it. It was hopeless attempting to keep up with his new names, just as it was hopeless trying to recognise him. Though when the rest of them needed to become unrecognisable it took him hours to transform their bodies to their specifications, he could change his own appearance as easily as another might change clothes.

The one thing he always kept the same were his eyes. When he wasn't feigning his eyes were detached. They held a coolness. A precision as though he was constantly sorting the world around him into targets, the weakest, the most vulnerable, and they would die before they knew the time for talk to had passed. Eyes like his had a killer behind them.

But he was a consummate actor. Whereas the rest of them had tells in their body language, Dolos had none. In truth working out what he looked like had been a process of elimination leaving only him at the end.

Dolos had always operated differently than the rest of them. When he and Cinder had taken to the field, they had left devastation in their wake, but sometimes the situation called for a subtler approach. That was where Dolos would thrive.

He was a ghost. The strongest fortresses were but minor inconveniences to him. He would approach as an officer, haughty and uptight. The moment he gained entrance a servant would walk the halls, docile and respectful, through areas where none else could tread. Up until the point where the King's own valet brought him breakfast. An hour or two later the King would leave his room and instruct his guards to dispose of the body. A single knife thrust was all Dolos required to take a Kingdom and under his rule, the precipice it was headed for could be avoided.

His seat nearer to Cinder was the logical one, still in the middle, but was it? Dolos had always enjoyed his role in their plans. He had voted with Cinder against their withdrawal from the world and they had not spoken since. Cinder had obviously been on the receiving end of his Semblance since the last time they had seen each other. Had Dolos known of the reason why she wanted to look different? If he was allied with Cinder, it would be a major problem. He would never be able to be certain that the person he was talking to was not someone else in disguise. It was even possible that Dolos had taken the place of one of the Councillors and was leading the rest against him.

Last came Joseph. He'd always been content with an older appearance than the rest of them, but it was easier to gain respect when you looked more experienced. His black hair speckled with grey was slicked back and the sleeves of his white coat were singed. He was wearing a lab outfit and they'd most likely interrupted one of his experiments. Throughout history if there was someone making major technological advances there was a good chance it had been Joseph or he had been assisting them.

Out of all of the members of the Pantheon he had remained in the closest contact with Joseph. Together they had been working towards making hunters more efficient, stronger, better at taking down the Grimm. Many of the designs utilised by hunters today came straight from one of his labs, only modified by the hunter in choice. Together they had been trying to empower everyone.

Joseph did not sit in the middle of the table with the rest; instead with great finality he took the seat directly to Ozpin's right. His open declaration of a side caused the others to exchange looks but Joseph had never been one who had the patience for subterfuge. In answer to Cinder's questioning eyebrow he spoke only four words, words that trembled with rage. "You hurt my daughter."

Cinder eyes widened slightly and Ozpin could see the gears grinding behind her eyes. Had she not known Joseph's daughter had been in the city? The neutrality of the others at the table seemed to shift slightly in his favour. All of them had fallen in love at one point or another and they were all only too acquainted with the agony love left in its wake.

Love was not meant for them. It was not meant for immortals. The beauty of love came in its fragility and they were not fragile. Even if they were lucky they would be helpless as they watched the recipient of their affection develop a pain in their knee, their back, find their first grey hair, and then pass from this life. While they remained looking the same as the day they had first met. If they had children they would be next until their descendants spread across the world never knowing they stood beside their ancestor. Love was too painful, but they were all only too aware that no one gets to choose who they fall for. Even immortals have hearts.

He knew the specifics of Joseph's current relationship but he doubted any of the others did. Joseph had only told him in his hour of his greatest need and under the immense weight of grief that was all too familiar.

Sensing the shifting mood Cinder spoke to him. "Joseph?" she paused as if unsure what name he was using, but when he didn't correct her she went on. "I promise you it was never my intention to put your daughter in harm's w ̶ ̶ "

Joseph's fist slammed into table. The wineglass nearest him toppled over and the white purity of the tablecloth was stained crimson. "You absolutely meant to put her in harm's way! But how many other daughters or sons died in your war, how many other innocents!"

"Peace Joseph." From where he was sat next to Joseph, Ozpin was subjected to the outer wake of whatever it was Titania did. Her voice radiated tranquillity and even as only a partial recipient some of his latent anger was dowsed. The wine seeped out of the tablecloth and like a miniature wave rolled back into the wineglass before it righted itself.

Without the protection of rage Ozpin was forced to confront the question,  _how many other innocents?_  That struck too close to home. Though he was blameless this time, just how many had he killed? How many had been wiped out of existence in the name of the greater good? His soul was blacker than any that walked this planet. It was just as well he was immortal otherwise he would have been destined for an eternity of retribution.

"It was not my war. I will tell you that now. I was not the one who started it; I did not even facilitate it. The one who did is sitting opposite me." Cinder spoke with complete belief in her claims.

"That's a lie and you all know it. Do you deny you were in control of the Knights, the White Fang? Do you deny unleashing the Grimm on the city?" Ozpin tried very hard not to rise from his chair.

"Do not act like you have the moral high ground Ozpin, no one buys it. The Grimm have always been one of your favourite weapons or have you forgotten why you had to save Elysion?"

"There is a difference between what happened there and releasing the Grimm into a city of civilians. But do you deny you were in control of the White Fang?"

"I absolutely deny it. The White Fang are a symptom of the abuse the Faunus suffer at the hands of humans. We all know that they are but one in a long line of those fighting for their rights, but you are responsible for them. Can you tell me they would have cause to exist if you hadn't decided to disband the Pantheon? We would have halted the Faunus War before it started; made sure they didn't have reason to rise up. You are directly responsible for their actions Ozpin."

Cinder had always been eloquent in her speech but she so often settled on a point and ignored anything that contradicted it. "Just as we've always been so successful in stopping discrimination against the Faunus. It can't be done Cinder; you are deluding yourself if you think otherwise. But we all know you're not that stupid. Maybe you weren't directly leading the White Fang, but you were still coordinating with them and it was definitely you in charge of the Knights. The White Fang simply don't have the capability to hack them."

"I admit I was in control of them." Ozpin heard Joseph's knuckles creak at the confession. "But I was doing what we have always done and sacrificing a few for the greater good. The White Fang would have continued to gain momentum. The discrimination has only been getting worse over the last decade. How many attacks have they carried out? How many civilians have died? And how many more innocents have died in the reprisals?

"Even if I wiped them out, another group would rise from their ashes. It's a vicious cycle that just keeps repeating itself; we all know that, I decided to break it. The Faunus have Vale, their own Kingdom, a city that will be free from racism. Other Faunus are flocking to that beacon of hope. In time they will learn not to hate and without the boot of constant oppression they will grow. They will have the opportunity to become doctors, scientists, philosophers; they will give so much to the world and finally the world will learn to coexist with them. That is worth the sacrifice."

It was too much like looking in a cloudy mirror. How many times had he been the one to make that statement?  _It's worth the sacrifice._  A few thousand lives for decades of stability where people wouldn't be oppressed just because of their genealogy? It was surely worth it.

That was the numbers game they had played time and time again. They had sat in this place or one like it and calculated just how much each person's life was worth. When they were reduced to numbers on parchment it was far too easy to callously write them off.

The worst thing was if Cinder had brought her plan to the table a few centuries ago he would likely have agreed with it. A Faunus kingdom was an idea they had always considered. But in the ages without communication or mass transport, it was one they'd never been able to realise. Their involvement would have been too overt. They would have had to build or seize a city, transport the Faunus from all over the world, and then see to their security as they acclimatised. It was something that would have ended up raising far too many questions about who the mysterious group was.

But Cinder had managed it. The Faunus were already emigrating across the planet. Their safety was assured by the military hardware they had seized and the Councillors she had under her thumb. And apart from the few who had witnessed their fight, most would have no clue as to her involvement. She had pulled off a coup as well planned as any throughout their long and sordid history.

But she had pulled it off in  _his_  city. It had been his students fighting in the streets, his people dying in their hundreds. And it was not as perfect as she was making out. There were tens of thousands of civilians who hadn't been evacuated. Perhaps a kingdom with only Faunus could thrive, but the presence of humans would ensure that discrimination would be present only reversed.

The White Fang would not treat everybody equally. First they would want payback, the humans living under the rule of terrorists would be subjected to everything the Faunus had been made to suffer and more. That would breed its own discontentment until the terrorists found out how hard it was to stamp out dissent.

But he could see some of his compatriots were being swayed by the fine ideals that Cinder was presenting. Though Titania and Aurora revealed nothing in their expressions, Juno was clearly deep in thought, and Dolos even looked impressed. Slowly Cinder was winning them round to her side.

"It was not worth the sacrifice. The Faunus need to be integrated into society not separated from it. The Faunus who can't afford to emigrate are now being treated even worse than before, all because of you and it will not stop there. I'm guessing you're still in Vale, so why don't you tell us how all the humans left in the city are being treated by the terrorists that hate them, the ones you elevated to power? We all know the answer. When word gets out, even your Councillors will not be able to supress the public outcry for reprisals."

"That's what you want isn't it? You want reprisals. A war. Your answer to bloodshed has always been more bloodshed," Cinder spat the insult.

"I want no such thing. I have spent the last eight decades trying to promote stability, trying to create a world in which we aren't needed. I was content with my position at Beacon. Content until you acted, I don't want a war, but a war is coming whether we like it or not. The White Fang are simply not going to disappear as you appear to be counting on. You have given them the victory, they will only want more. What city do you plan on giving to them next? Vacuo? Calypso maybe? And if you don't they will turn on you as well. You have saddled a Nevermore; there is no way to ride it safely."

He then addressed the rest of the table. "All those years ago when I brought the last vote to the table it was my intention that we would never have to get involved the affairs of the world again. But thanks to Cinder we have to. The White Fang have seized power through fear and violence, everything we used to stand against. We cannot allow them to prosper. Though I wish there was a peaceful solution, there simply isn't one."

Cinder laughed, long and loud bringing everybody's attention back to her. "You didn't want to get involved in the affairs of the world. Can you even hear yourself? You're even more conceited than you've ever been if that's possible. Though I didn't agree with the outcome of the vote, I abided with it. We all did. Apart from you. If a stranger was here, you are the only one they would recognise. Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy. You haven't even made an attempt to fit in. You wanted everyone to know you are different, to know that you're special.

"You can't have it both ways. Hunters have changed the world and that is largely down to you. All the time that we've been passive, you have been training your own private army. How many do you think would come if you called? Dozens? Hundreds? And when the opportunity presented itself, you seized even more power. There were dozens of army officers in Vale, but you took control, even over a lieutenant general. You seized power and are unwilling to release it. What will it be, King Ozpin, Emperor?"

"I only took power because there was no one else who understood what was actually happening. If I didn't tens of thousands would have been slaughtered. I don't want it."

"You're the worst kind of hypocrite. Your lies may work on some but they won't on us, we've known you too long. You plans always came together in such a way that you were in a position of authority, a general, the right hand of a king. You've always wanted to rule, the only thing stopping you has been us."

He was just about to counter her argument, when she spoke again in a much quieter voice. "Shall I tell the rest of you what set all these events into motion?"

Cinder bowed her head, staring at the table in front of her. The visible anger seeped out of her body and was replaced with something much more profound. One of her hands wound a lock of her hair around her finger and despite how old she actually was, sitting there she looked just like a vulnerable young woman bent under the weight of something monumental. He wasn't buying it.

Her voice was choked. "You all know I didn't think we should stop, but I respected your decision. It was hard and I didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't have a purpose anymore. I spent a lot of time travelling; I didn't really visit the cities, but instead spent time in the wilderness.

"It's something I've never really had the chance to do before; we were always rushing from one place to another. I've never had that much time to myself. I trekked through the jungles and deserts of Vacuo, across the glaciers of Atlas, and scaled the volcanoes of Mistral; I pretty much visited every place I ever wanted to. I enjoyed the freedom from the burdens we'd lived with for so long.

"And in the forests of Vale on a cold and damp night, I met someone. He was a hunter, not a huntsman, just a trapper. I saw the lights of his house through the trees and knocked. He didn't know me, I could have been anyone, but he invited me in out of the rain. Despite it being close to midnight he built up the fire, found me some spare clothes, and cooked me dinner. Then when I was warm and dry, he gave me his bed despite my protests.

"He was the first person in almost longer than I can remember that treated me… just as me. I was just a stranger in the night and he was so kind and he was lonely, just like I was. I didn't move on like I planned to but ended up staying. It was peaceful there, in the middle of a forest, with a stream nearby and animals all around. The Grimm didn't bother him, he wasn't worth the trouble.

"He taught or at least thought he taught me how to track, to hunt, to fish, everything you need to live in the wilderness. I lied to him, I never told him who I actually was, showed him what I could do. I didn't want to scare him off. I was happy with the lie and so was he. I stayed with him for years; he built a larger house for us with his hands. I liked it there.

"And then your hunters found me." Cinder looked up from the tablecloth then and her eyes glowed with incarnadine fires. "I woke with a knife in my chest. I guess you didn't tell them what I was, or they didn't believe you. I survived, Ash didn't. They killed him in our bed, right next to me. I had to watch as he died."

Cinder's voice was trembling and her Semblance flared out of control, tongues of flaming rising from her skin. If she was acting, it was one of the finest performances he had ever witnessed, but she had to be.

Though some of his best and most loyal students did have orders to keep an eye out for someone with a similar Semblance to hers, but he'd never told them to approach her, let alone try and kill her. He'd just wanted to find out where she was and to make sure she wasn't plotting on her own. Titania either hadn't known or didn't want to tell him and none of the others he'd remained in contact with had either.

He kept his voice low and calm. "Cinder they weren ̶ ̶ "

Her shout sent the songbirds from all around soaring into the sky and the air temperature rose as she leapt up from her seat. "Don't you dare lie to me! Our house was the only one for fifty miles in every direction. There was no reason for two hunters to be anywhere nearby and they attended Beacon, I found out that much. Two of your personal dogs sent out on a hunt."

"They were yours?" Dolos spoke up from his seat, a tone of absolute shock in his voice. "I got jumped by two hunters back when I was in Mistral. I was never able to find out who they were, but they were skilled,  _Beacon level_  skilled. Did you send them after me as well?"

_Was this a ploy?_  He'd had people looking out for Dolos as well, however impossible it was to find someone who could change their appearance at will. Surely his students had tried to kill the pair of them, they wouldn't have.

But he believed Cinder, there was too much raw emotion spilling out of her for it to be a lie. Someone had killed  _Ash_  and either she was using his death as a weapon to turn the others against him or she genuinely believed the hunters had been sent by him.

Had someone else arranged it? Maybe even Dolos? He'd voted against disbanding the Pantheon as well and Cinder had always been one of the quickest to anger and when angered she razed cities. But why would he, what would it gain? The Pantheon wouldn't magically reform if he and Cinder went to war. It would be shattered and Dolos wouldn't be able to achieve much on his own.

None of it made sense. Had his hunters followed up a lead and killed her husband, perhaps in self-defence, only to have Cinder turn all the blame on him? He just couldn't believe the story that they had struck while she was asleep.

"Cinder I swear to you that they weren't mine. I had people looking for you, but only to ascertain if you were still alive. They never had orders to even approach you."

"Stop lying! We were the two who voted  _no_ and we're meant to accept your word that the Beacon hunters who attacked both of us did so without your orders? That's farfetched even for you. You knew we would be the two most likely to oppose your plans, so you decided to take us out first.

"Well it didn't work. Without Vale, without any of the power you seized, you have nothing. You have been forced to call this meeting because you know what a bad position you now find yourself in. You're playing innocent but you aren't. Everyone here knows that. Deep down, they know the truth of everything I've said. You Ozpin, are, and have always been, a tyrant. For the sake of the world and what you were planning to turn it into, I had to stop you."

With those words he knew there would be no reasoning with her. Whatever had happened with her husband in her forest home had unhinged her. It had obviously just been one loss too many. He'd truly had nothing to do with the attack on her, but there was no way that she would believe him, her mind was already made up.

Everything he had done throughout his long life had been to try and proliferate the ideals that all should hold. He had brought down dozens of tyrants who oppressed the people they were ultimately meant to serve. A true ruler was the servant to all.

The kingdom he ruled would have prospered, but it would have come at a cost that was just too high and that cost was freedom. People deserved their own chance to make mistakes and learn from them, ultimately bettering themselves.

Though it had always been so tempting to forcibly drag the world into the path he had seen, he had always held back. In some of those many futures he had seen in their ascension he had ruled, by democracy or by force. In some the world had prospered and in others it had been torn by strife between the members of the Pantheon.

Gods were not meant to war between themselves. The evidence of that had been visible in his duel with Cinder, a battle between gods razed cities by accident. If the sector had been populated thousands of innocents would have died.

But his shoes had been forced to take the first step along that dark path. The Pantheon was at war with itself and now that he knew the depths of Cinder's madness there was no way to avert it. Her blame of him would keep her coming no matter what. More innocents would die with her every attempt to hurt him.

It was simply something he couldn't allow, but Cinder had made a mistake. Her sense of loss might have been justification in her eyes, but in that case his loss was no less acute. His stubbornness had seen that his relationship with Glynda had never progressed until the last. He would never know just how much better their lives might have been if he'd just given in to the longing.

But he'd honour her memory; he would stop the person who had killed her and every single one of the students she had given her whole life to teach.

When he finally spoke in response to her accusation, it was in a voice that held the weight of millennia at the head of this table. "You professed that all the crimes you committed were for the betterment of the Faunus. That was something we could have brought to the table and discussed. Though you broke your word and did it without authorisation, no one here will say it is not a worthy cause. There could have been a way back from that.

"But it is clear you care not for the Faunus. They are just a tool, a tool to make me pay for my imagined crime. I will say to you again Cinder and to the rest of you, I had nothing to do with the attack on you.

"I called this meeting because we have spent millennia at each other's side and despite what you have done in Vale, what you have done all over the world, I wanted to try and avert what we are heading towards.

"We formed the Pantheon to give humanity the tools it needed to survive and fought all these years to allow society to thrive. We did good, that is undeniable. In your delusion you have thrown that away.

"Despite everything you have done I do not want to fight you Cinder, but I know you will not stop until I am dead. You are forcing my hand. I will not surrender this world to you. I am giving you this one chance to stop and think about what you are doing. You started this war Cinder, but if you carry on perpetuating it, I guarantee I will be the one who finishes it."

It was done. The Pantheon, which had stood united for time immemorial, was all but broken. Cinder had a single gossamer thread by which she could save her life and he knew she would burn it even before she rose from her chair.

He looked around at his friends, his comrades. None had missed the gravity of his words, they all knew, as surely as he, Cinder was too impassioned to stop. As much as they all knew how much the coming war would hurt them, even if it was only limited to the pain of seeing two friends fight.

He addressed them all. "I have no quarrel with any of you. You are my closest friends." He looked at Joseph and knew he was with him, at Titania where underneath the taught mask of a monarch despair was showing, and into Aurora's eyes, they revealed nothing but sorrow. "I only desire to preserve what we have all struggled for over the ages and to give the people of this world a chance to live the life they deserve. You all know me. You know I would never have moved against you, and I will not do so now. If you wish to contact me after today, you know where to find me."

Ozpin rose and glared at the woman seated at the other end of the table. He matched her obvious anger with his own; she looked ready to attack him that very instant. "Cinder I have given you the chance, do not spurn it." With that he turned away. He was giving her the opportunity to try and talk the rest of the Pantheon around, but he had nothing more to say to her and no more arguments to give.

"Ozpin wait," her cry caused him to pause.

Cinder had risen from her seat and was slowly slinking towards him. With her hips swaying and her feet crossing over one another, she was the very epitome of feminine grace. But it was the deadly grace of the female defending her nest. She took her time in the approach, measuring every step, out of the corner of his eye he saw Titania prepare to intercede if any violence occurred.

She only stopped a hand span away and her perfume washed over him. Despite her heels, he was almost a head taller and she was forced to look up into his eyes. Leaning in even closer, her lips almost brushed his ear.

"You reap what you sow Ozpin. Everything is on you, remember that in your darkest hour."

Cinder leant back and spoke in a voice that carried. "We still have more to discuss, you can't leave now."

Why would she say that? He was leaving her at an advantage however slight. Why would she want him to stay here? He looked deep into her eyes, though the body may change, the soul remains. Underneath the boiling rage he found the hint of satisfaction as one of her plans came together.

He cast his mind back through what he'd said. What had he given her? She was better than him at this; he relied on his Semblance too much, whereas her guile was earned. He might have usually set out the goal, but it was often her who came up with the plan.

Nothing he'd said would have given her the advantage surely? She was the one who would most likely be coming out of this meeting looking worse. He was missing something, some phrase, some errant word, but nothing came to mind.

What else had he done? He'd attacked her, but that had gone just as badly for her. He couldn't recall doing anything that would have fallen in her favour since he'd set foot in the forest.  _Set foot in the forest._  Cinder had wanted him to come here, and now she was trying to keep him here.

Frantically he reached inside himself, inside his mind, and found the barrier around it that was Titania's illusion. The forest and the entire world beyond it, wasn't real, it all existed in Titania's head and she could share it with others. He pushed against the obstruction, trying to reconnect his mind with the actual impulses his body was receiving.

The membrane stretched under his efforts but it remained intact. That was part of what made Titania so scary, as soon as you accepted her invitation, it was her mind you had to break out of. He gathered up his will and leant against it, slowly inexorably he felt it strain. Titania must have noticed it too, for though he felt her puzzlement, she let the world dissolve around him.

The Council hall reared back into life. The bright light should have been dazzling after so long spent in a twilight realm, but his body had been here the whole time and his pupils were already contracted. And his eyes focussed on the blade plunging towards his chest.

His body was moving before his mind had even managed to catch up. He may have been disorientated, but he had spent thousands of years fighting, and that built muscle memory that was close to infallible.

He pivoted on his left foot, allowing the blade to pass through the air where his chest had been a heartbeat before and he caught the Dragon's wrist with both his hands. As he exerted pressure he could feel the Dragon's Aura fighting against him. He knew he didn't have the strength to overcome it by brute force but his opponent had made a mistake when he came so close.

His own Aura answered his call and instead of forming a shield just above his skin, he forged it into a weapon. It was a technique only a few could pull off and at Beacon it had only been taught in the fourth year ̶ ̶ to those who passed the initial tests.

It was not only dangerous to the unprepared but it was looked down upon for it was useless against Grimm, it only served a purpose against other people. But he had wanted to prepare his students for whatever they might come up against.

In a fight against another, the hunter would have to choose whether to use their Aura offensively or defensively. That was another reason why so few of the people who could do it utilised it. For most their desire to win, was eclipsed by their desire not to lose.

For him that wasn't a problem. He gathered up a fraction of his Aura from its defensive duties and flung it against the Dragon's. His Aura shredded his opponent's and bereft of its protection, the limb under his hands gave way. The broken bone tore through skin and the sword started to tumble to the floor. The Dragon's eyes were only beginning to go wide with pain, when Ozpin's stiffened fingers thrust through the gap in the armour just under the chin and into his trachea. It crunched under the force of the impact.

The Dragon was dead he just didn't know it yet. Even as he was delivering the killing blow, his foot had been snaking its way beneath the path of the falling sword. He caught the hilt on his laces and flicked it upwards into his waiting hand.

Compared to Umbraspem it was close to the crudest weapon imaginable, but it was a weapon. He used his shoulder to knock the choking guard into another at the same time as he answered the clinking of armour that told of someone approaching his back.

Their swords clashed, the sound echoing in the large room. That was another unpleasant reminder of the inferiority of the weapon in his hand. Umbraspem would have cut straight through his opponent's weapon, armour, and into the body beyond.

He didn't have time to do more than that as the Dragons that surrounded him began to react to his awakening. To them he must have been almost a blur, it had taken him heartbeats at most to kill the first and the second had likely started swinging at him before he'd struck.

Five on one odds were poor for anyone, he could have won, but it would have taken far more effort than needed. For the first time since returning from the dream, he reached inside himself and activated his Semblance.

The world blurred or that was how it was best described. All the Dragons gained a million faint shadows but each had a shadow that was more defined than the rest. It was impossible to tell the future, anyone who claimed otherwise was a fraud.

But what you could do was try and predict it. Everyone did it, even children, even animals, they only didn't realise it. Two children playing catch predicted the future every time they successfully caught the ball. They were only looking a few seconds into the future but it was enough.

As soon as the ball was in flight, the subconscious part of their brain started to go to work. It performed equations of frightening complexity in fractions of a second to predict its trajectory. At first they might have only had a rough idea as to its path; there were a thousand things that could affect it, wind, drag, spin, velocity. But as it got closer, as the variables became fixed, the possible trajectories reduced into just one and the child's hand would be waiting.

It was child's play, literally, to predict the future of a ball already in a flight, but even a room full of the brightest minds in the world would find it impossible to predict the trajectory before it was thrown. There just wasn't enough data to base even an educated guess upon.

It might have been beyond geniuses but it wasn't beyond him, although he cheated. When his Semblance had first been developing and he'd caught glimpses of shadows, ethereal and insubstantial, he'd feared for his sanity.

As he grew stronger, they became slightly clearer, there were more of them, and he came to realise they foreshadowed events in the world. A person walking would have a shadow moving ever so slightly in front of them, an apple falling off a tree would be preceded by an image. Slowly he had come to understand.

The shadows didn't reveal the future, they revealed the most likely outcome from a specific set of circumstances. There wasn't enough data in the world he resided in to make such predictions so his Semblance garnered that data from elsewhere.

Their universe was not the only one. There are an infinite number of parallel worlds sitting side by side. Those closest to each other were the most similar, often separated by a single choice, whether to wear red or blue, whether to step left or right, and if a child threw a ball in one of those worlds it would likely travel and almost identical path to the ball in his.

In the end his ability to  _predict_ the future came down to a numbers game. If the child were to throw the ball a thousand times and the trajectories recorded, they would not be evenly distributed, instead most would group around the child's target.

That's what his Semblance did, it extended itself into those parallel worlds nearest him and from the data it garnered from the countless thousands of worlds it predicted what was going to happen next. No one could predict the future, but he came close.

The Dragon to his left started to swing, his blade following the path the most defined shadow had taken a second before. It was too easy, with the attacked telegraphed Ozpin stepped inside and thrust his sword through the soldier's open guard. Blood gushed.

At least they had a chance, even if it was a chance tempered by the weight of the multiverse. If he'd had Umbraspem on him, they wouldn't have. When he took to the field with his sword and his Semblance flaring none could come close to touching him. None could match him with the blade therefore all his enemies essentially became defenceless. He was no longer a hunter, but a murderer. As, even without Umbraspem, the Dragons soon found out.

With the empathy of the most prolific serial killer in history he stepped past his victims, the luckiest escaped with a severed hand, the rest would soon be making the acquaintance with whatever afterlife the universe offered. The members of the Council, Cinder's puppets, still sat upon their high pedestals, though their arrogance had been swept away like mist before a tempest.

Fear had replaced it. The Dragons were meant to be among the best fighters in Atlas, or that was at least what they had been told, and yet he had defeated six in close to as many heartbeats. Their belief in their shield, the one they had relied on for so long, had been shattered.

Cinder had outmanoeuvred him. He thought he had her dancing to his tune but only the reverse was true. One of her favourite sayings was  _Everything's going to plan_ and in reality it was. It might not have been her first plan or even her second, but she made arrangements for almost every possibility.

She must have guessed that he would want to talk to everyone first, make one last try at peace, and she had acted accordingly. While he was in Titania's dream his body was inert, he normally only answered her call when he was by himself, but in the middle of the hall it would have looked like he was asleep.

Their conversations occurred at the literal speed of thought, but the wheel of time never ceased to turn. Cinder had obviously instructed the Councillors to order the Dragons to attack if he entered a trance, perhaps telling them he was preparing a devastating attack, and the ever loyal Dragons had obeyed. That was probably the reason why there was a distinct lack of normal troops within the hall; they surely would have hesitated to attack an unarmed, defenceless man.

If he had been in the Dream a moment longer, if he had allowed Cinder to waylay him, if he'd spent longer talking to those he hadn't seen in years, the first thrust would have caught his chest. It wouldn't have broken his Aura, but how long would it have lasted under unrelenting assaults. And in the Dream he wouldn't have felt the slightest thing.

It was an old folklore that those who found the land of the Fae spent years there and came back old and withered. The second part was true, perpetuating the illusion used part of the person's Aura. But the main cost was the body would not receive the nutrition it needed while the person's mind was elsewhere. Many had died while walking through the magical forests from simple dehydration.

Cinder had almost had him. The brush with oblivion reignited the flames of his anger that had simmered down during their discussion at the table. His efforts for peace were hopeless, Cinder was intent that the only resolution to this situation would be with one of them dead. He would grant her wish.

The last vestiges of restraint slipped from his body. She would bear witness to his wrath and the first recipients of the anger that had destroyed civilization would be her puppets.

The Dragons formed a wall between him all around him but most of their numbers congregated between him and the Councillors. They may have been some of the elite, but they did not look it. The bravest of them held their weapons ready, but their eyes told him they were preparing to die and were using their last few breaths to make peace with the world before they passed from it.

Most were not nearly so brave. They had all heard the stories from those who escaped from Vale, they would have known he had held his place at the head of the world's most prestigious combat school for decades, and they would have spent their time wandering just who he really was.

The demonstration he'd provided sapped their courage and made their knees shake. Unarmed and unarmoured he'd killed five of their number and maimed another in a few scant seconds without sustaining so much as a single scratch. Their imaginations were running wild tormenting them with a single thought,  _what more could he do?_

Ozpin held his captured sword out at arm's length, the Dragons tensed, and for a moment there was absolute silence apart from the moans of pain from the crippled soldier behind him. The anticipation of the oncoming storm rose, creeping up for every moment he was still, behind the human wall some of the Councillors tried to slink away and still he didn't move.

With all their Auras tensed to bursting, the soldiers would have reacted to the slightest movement, so the clatter of his blood stained sword on the polished floor caused a ripple of jumps to spread through their ranks.

The Dragons didn't stand down, but they did look towards their officers and those officers looked towards the Councillors. They had paused in their escape, Ozpin could barely see them though the wall of steel, but he heard Councillor Hardwick's shout.

"You'll hang for this Ozpin."

Ozpin shook his head sadly,  _defiant to the last_. He spoke quietly, but it was a voice that carried and not one person who heard it managed to suppress the shiver it sent down their spine. He didn't threaten, didn't cry out, his words were said with absolute sincerity and assurance behind them.

"No I won't."

He poured more of his Aura into his Semblance. Instead of ghostly images were indicative of the presence of other worlds, he became consciously aware of them. In his mind's eye he could see another room just like this, another ring of soldiers, and at the centre of them a beacon shone out into the multiverse.

The beacon was him, one from a subtly different timeline, where a singular choice had slightly altered the events of the world; it was likely it didn't even affect him. That Ozpin was not one he was searching for.

He flared his Semblance, looking further. What he saw was something that was almost impossible to describe with mere words. For every second that passed millions of worlds splintered off, they all intertwined and wound round each other until they formed an almost indecipherable tapestry of staggering complexity.

The worlds that brushed up against each other were easier to reach but they were too similar for what he wanted to accomplish. His Semblance looked further, gliding through the tapestry, sampling the worlds it passed, until it found one where an alternative choice had been made.

In these worlds, he still stood surrounded by a ring of guards, but the corpses on the floor were leaking no blood and Umbraspem was shining in his hand. In those particular worlds the Council had never decreed that he should be searched before coming into their presence and consequently in those worlds he was armed.

He reached for the beacon that was one of the Ozpin's in those worlds and used the resonance between their Semblances to form a bridge between that world and his. The tapestry shuddered in protest at his actions and for a fraction of a heartbeat the universe seemed to twist in on itself.

It passed so quickly he had never worked out if he was imagining it or not, but when it was over another Ozpin stood next to him. It should have caused a paradox, two of the same person shouldn't have been able to exist in the same time stream, but his Semblance stopped the world from shattering. The other Ozpin looked identical, the same clothes, the same hair, the only difference was the lack of blood on his shirt and the weapon in his hand.

Ozpin ripped another seven Ozpins from their timelines and pulled them into his. At most it took half a second, half a second to stack the odds ludicrously in his favour.

One of the advantages of using Ozpins from similar worlds, not to mention that it took much less energy to form the bridge, was that they came into this world having been in almost identical circumstance and had likely had the same thoughts coursing through their own heads.

It only took a heartbeat for the Ozpins to orientate themselves with their sudden appearance before they charged. The black and gold line splintered into fragments. The soldiers tried to parry, only to find the white swords sliced their blades cleanly in two, before it struck some of the highest quality armour in existence.

The work of the finest smiths proved no more obstacle than the swords. Umbraspem passed through the composite plates with no more resistance than if they were made of air. Ozpin knew that if he examined the cuts they would be impossibly smooth as thought the material had been split at an atomic level and in reality it had.

With their defences sundered the Dragons felt the sting of the weapon that had claimed countless lives. Instead of cutting, Umbraspem would pass through living flesh without leaving a mark, the only sign of its passage the white flaring behind the victim's eyes as the ever hungry blade absorbed the energy that formed their soul.

A weapon that powerful would have made anyone close to untouchable ̶ ̶ how could you defend against something that kills with a touch and passes through every attempt to deny it? ̶ ̶ but all the Ozpins still had their own Semblances flaring. They could predict what their opponents would do before they did it.

The entire conflict was all too quiet. There was no harsh clash of metal on metal, only the clatter of ruined blades on the floor, there were no cries from the wounded. Those who were downed were invariably dead, and there were very few shouts. The most experienced fighters ̶ ̶ which the dragons were despite their showing here ̶ ̶ didn't waste energy with unnecessary vocalisation. There was only the squeaking of boots, the rustle of armour, and the thump as bodies hit the floor. It was not a fight, it was a slaughter.

Some of the Dragon's broke off from the fight, grabbing hold of the Councillors and rushing them as best as they were able towards the two large wooden doors, shouting for them to be opened and for backup. Ozpin was just about to interfere with their ill-fated escape when two more Ozpins appeared in front of them.

He hadn't pulled them into this world, one of the other Ozpins must have taken the initiative first. The lead Dragon officer, one of his old students skidded to a halt. He pushed Batista behind him, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Then with only the slightest hint of fear he leapt to attack his old headmaster.

He'd obviously been watching, he didn't try to parry Umbraspem but instead threw himself to the side out of the blades way. Christian hadn't been one of the brightest in the year but like all who made it to Beacon he was intelligent. He'd seen what had happened to those under his command and had formulated a plan to avoid it. It would have worked, if only a hundred million Christians in other worlds hadn't formed the same plan of action.

Christian leapt to the side and found Umbraspem waiting for him, it sheared through his armour and into his chest. The start of a gasp escaped his lips before his eyes burned with white light. His limp body fell to the floor like so many of his comrades.

The other Dragons who had attempted to evacuate the Councillors met similar fates; they died knowing they had failed in their sworn duty. With a last clatter of a heavy armoured body falling to the still mostly pristine floor, the unnaturally quiet battle subsided.

The only ones left standing were him and those from other worlds, all entirely unscathed and the Councillors. Batista's face was white, his eyes roving as they looked of the human wreckage in the Council chambers. Hardwick was trembling, his superiority replaced by absolute terror. He was barely able to walk as one of the other Ozpins half dragged him to centre of the hall before pushing him to his knees.

One by one the Councillors who controlled half the world were forced to kneel before the one they had derided for so long. It was a scene he had witnessed hundreds of times before, this was only one in a long line of purges he'd engineered and it was always the same. Those with power tend to think themselves untouchable by mortal men, the difference was he wasn't mortal and they were very much within his reach.

Some were still staring at the doors, hoping beyond hope that at any moment they would be thrown open by a rush of fresh soldiers who would save them. Ozpin knew they wouldn't, if more soldiers were coming they would have been here by now drawn by the shouts. But the doors were made of thick wood and the entire room was designed to stop someone eavesdropping on closed sessions of the Council.

Ozpin made a subtle gesture, nothing more than the merest flick of a finger, but its meaning was clear. The nearest of his other selves thrust Umbraspem into the chest of the soldier he had maimed before he had summoned them. It was one of the advantages of ripping them from such similar worlds, most of the time he didn't even have to talk to them. Their thought patterns were too in sync. If he was thinking of a course of action it was likely that they were as well.

The moans of pain cut off abruptly and the last of the Council's elite force slumped backwards. Apart from the sobs from one of the Councillor's whose pride had been completely broken, silence had fallen.

"It didn't have to be this way. If you'd just served the interest of those who elected you we would have been allies. Instead your greed made you betray the people who relied on, that is unforgivable. I'm not sure what she promised you but I hope it was worth it."

Councillor Hardwick's desperate voice interrupted his. "She didn't promise me anything apart from my life. She… she said she'd kill me if I didn't do what she said… I couldn't do anything else. I didn't know what she was planning, I just had to make sure people turned a blind eye, make sure Atlas took over security. None it was my fault… please my children…"

Marian broke off from her sobs to swing her head round and look at Hardwick in shock at his confession. That in itself was interesting, Cinder hadn't got to all of the Valean Councillors, just one or two, but they had all made the vote.

"She threatened me as well," Draxler found his voice. "There was nothing I could do. She just appeared in my bedroom in the middle of the night. She managed to get past all the security and cameras without a trace. She killed my dog, incinerated it until there was nothing left and told me my wife would be next if I disobeyed her. I didn't have a choice. You'd have done the same. You all would have."

Threats weren't that unusual for her. The problem with offering bribes was that there was always the risk of higher bidder, whereas you can only die once. But there were some things worth dying for. All the Councillors were the perfect targets. They would not sacrifice themselves for the greater good, they would attempt to hang on to their miserable lives no matter the cost.

Once he might have felt sympathy for them, back in his youth, but he had seen too many who were just like them. People who were willing to put themselves before everything else. They were cowards and their cowardice had caused the deaths of thousands. Draxler's actions may have saved the life of his wife, but how many other wives were likely decomposing in mass graves outside Vale's city walls.

"That is no excuse. You had a duty, the oaths you swore when took office were not optional. You were meant to stand for the people all over the world, not just yourselves." Ozpin looked at each and every one of them, fixing the image in his mind. Cinder had started the war but he would finish it and it began today. "You are all guilty by association, if not complicity, and mercy to the guilty is treason to the innocent."

He inclined his head by a fraction, and in the bright sunshine, in the very seat of their power, the Councillors died. Batista extended his life by a heartbeat as he realised what the nod signalled and tried to throw himself away from his captor, but Umbraspem found him all the same.

In one fell swoop his actions had undone eight decades of democracy. With the Council dead their puppets in the courts would cease their opposition of his command of the forces of Vale and whoever gained power in the vacuum here would be wise to listen to him and if they didn't, Cinder held no monopoly on threats.

But he was sure they would fall on his side. Arian Schnee would not allow another situation like the one with Draxler to arise. He'd almost considered keeping the rotund Councillor alive as gift, he was sure Arian would want to remind him of the definition of loyalty, but he couldn't afford for any information of what transpired here to escape this room.

With a nod of thanks he relaxed his hold on his Semblance and the other Ozpins vanished. In truth he didn't know if they were destroyed by the paradox, sent back to their original worlds where they had been absent for a time, or if a whole new set of worlds splintered off with a different him remaining in each one. He'd never been able to check, it was almost impossible to find the same world line again.

With the departure of his unquestioning allies, Ozpin felt the weight of the planet fall squarely on his shoulders. He shook his head as he surveyed the dozens of bodies on the floor, most young men and women in their prime who had only been following orders. It was a colossal waste.

He hadn't wanted this, he'd come into this room with the intention of averting the war that would likely shake the very world down to its roots and he'd failed. Just how many people would suffer for it, because of him? But he couldn't allow Cinder's crimes to go unanswered; the world she envisaged was not the one that the future deserved.

Cinder and her delusions had forced his hand. A single death, one for which she assigned the blame to him, would be answered by who knew how many more? Despite his melancholy his mind was racing, formulating everything he needed to do and in what order.

He spoke more to himself, but there was a chance Cinder was listening.

"Cinder," he rolled her name around his tongue, it would be her last. "You forced me to this. You have shattered the Pantheon. I did not order the death of your husband, but I know you won't listen. Your puppets lie dead as do their soldiers. Honestly Cinder did you really think they would be able to kill me? You who have fought by my side countless times? It was nothing more than an insult to send them against me.

"I will tell you something and hold it in your mind. You better prepare every ally, every soldier, every hunter, every army you can muster and it will not be enough. For when we meet again even god himself will not save you from me."

Ozpin turned away walking back towards the large doors, past the cooling corpses and through the pool of blood congealing where it had leaked from his first victims. He stopped in the middle of the intricate pattern in the middle of the hall, remembering what it had been like all those years ago, back when the Pantheon had been united. He had danced with Cinder right on this very spot; she'd looked beautiful as usual in her raven black dress. They were still partners only now in a very different sort of dance. He shook his head consumed by the sadness of what he knew was to come, despite his words he would take no pleasure in her death but it was necessary. There would be no peace between them. He sighed.

The world became fire.

Underneath the chamber in which the decisions that shaped the most powerful country on the planet were made, red Dust ignited. Its inherent energy was released at a rate that ensured not even hunters were capable of protecting themselves with so little warning. The floor moved, the world shook, and sky was rent.

The shockwave tore through the building, ripping down walls as if they were made of paper and consuming anyone unfortunate enough to be in its way. Hungry flames come after it, feasting on the cornerstone of democracy.

The first shaky video of Tintagel castle burning, the great gaping holes in its huge walls, of bloodied survivors stumbling away, was broadcast on every single channel and every anchor shared the same sentiment, outrage.

For the second time in less than a century the heart of Atlas had been shattered.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Atlas was at war.

There had been no official declaration as of yet but the announcement was as certain as the sun was to rise. The population was demanding it. It was one thing for a handful of their troops to be killed in a faraway land on a peacekeeping mission; those casualties had some rattling their sabres but in a country of millions the number directly affected was small.

A direct assault on the very heart of their capital city was entirely different. Everyone had voted the Council into power and now they had been slaughtered in an indefensible attack. The oldest among them still remembered and the youngest were taught of the treachery that had ended the Atlesian monarchy.

The last time there had been an unprovoked strike on the Atlesian homeland it had signalled the start of the Great War and had led to an Atlesian counter invasion that had sundered the largest Empire in history. There were many who were now calling for similar action.

They were even willing to take it into their own hands. Though no one had yet claimed responsibility for the attack on Tintagel Castle it was obvious who had carried it out. Mobs had gathered in the streets of the cities all over Atlas, dragging White Fang sympathisers out of their homes, and meting out vigilante punishment. In the capital entire Faunus tenements had been burned to the ground in the first few hours of outrage.

The mobs were met with a harsh response. With the Council presumed dead Arian Schnee had made use of emergency legislation and assumed control of the city of Atlas. His first mandate had been the immediate deployment of thousands of troops onto the streets and the declaration of a city wide curfew.

When daylight dawned smoke was competing with the snow over the most populated city on the planet but the civil unrest had been halted. Those who'd had their homes destroyed were relocated and given protective details. The soldiers remained on the streets to ensure the disorder could not be allowed to flourish again.

Though Arian's sheer force of will had succeeded in pulling a blanket of tranquillity over the capital, it was a temporary one. The rage felt by the people had not been diminished in a single night and tens of thousands had gathered in public areas the following day watched closely by troops and the police decked out in riot gear.

Most who could chose to work from home following the bombing. Many establishments simply shut down for the day. For Yang and Blake staying in hadn't been an option. In the days since their drunken copulation Blake had shown Yang just how many people were relying on her.

Seeing how many people were suffering had not improved the probability of her eyes returning to their normal colour. She was still angry with herself for being too self-absorbed to notice their plight. And of course there was the frustration she felt towards Blake for trying to struggle through it all by herself.

Her life had improved significantly since that fateful evening. In the mornings before the sun had fully risen she would spend time with Ruby in the gym. Her sister did seem to be happier and was always talking about what she had planned for the day. After a quick breakfast she'd head out with Blake to help the refugees and then she'd spend the evening in her friend's company. Quite often they didn't talk, Blake would curl up in a chair with a book and she'd watch something quietly. But just knowing that there was someone there who cared about her was enough to banish most of her self-destructive thoughts. Most but not all, the lure of alcohol was still strong within her, but so far she'd kept her promise. The prospect of a relationship with Blake kept her grounded.

The days spent knowing she was doing good helped as well. It was to her shame that she hadn't spent much time with any Faunus before meeting Blake. On Patch they had been even more of a minority than they were in Vale, there had been a couple at Signal but not many. Though the cost of training to become a huntress was partially subsidised, it was still far too high for those whose families worked menial jobs. The few who had attended had been recipients of bursaries based on their skills.

The Faunus she'd met here were, simply put, incredible. They'd been through so much and yet they still managed to greet her with a smile. It was with those smiles in mind that she and Blake had braved the unease of the city on a knife's edge.

Blake had been doubly sure to wear her bow and to keep her hood up in the hostile atmosphere. The city reeked with tension. People were furious with the attack on their sovereignty, an attack both she and Blake had spent much time puzzling over.

It didn't make sense from any tactical perspective. The White Fang must still have been consolidating their hold on Vale and even if they had, they didn't have anywhere close to the resources to engage in a protracted war with the most powerful military force on the planet. A military force that had not made any move to launch a retaliatory strike.

They'd come to the conclusion that either once again the White Fang had knowledge that no one else shared and this was just their opening move or it had been carried out by a splinter group. Perhaps they were expecting the entirety of the Faunus population on Atlas to rise up under their banner.

Whatever it was, unless there was another move coming it seemed to have backfired. The tension in the streets was evidence enough of what the general population wanted to do to the White Fang, wipe them out as their ancestors eight decades ago had wiped out the Final Empire.

It didn't shame her to admit that she'd actually been scared on the streets. Though she'd been armed, it was obvious that those gathering under the watchful eyes of the soldiers were tinder that would need only the slightest spark to be set ablaze.

Against almost any one person she'd fancy her luck. Against a few hundred? Even her Semblance wouldn't save her. It would be all too easy to be absorbed by the crowds and then only the slightest accident could have revealed Blake's heritage.

Her partner had not been armed when they were in the city. Though their provisional hunter's licenses had allowed them to carry weapons in Atlas, that privilege had been suspended in the unrest. Gambol Shroud was far more conspicuous than Ember Celica which could be concealed under coat sleeves. Her partner agitation at being disarmed had shown in her demeanour.

Several times they had reached an edge of a square thronged with people only for Blake to turn them around to find another way. The trip to the Faunus sectors had taken five hours where it would normally take twenty minutes on the subway. A trip that had been made in vain.

The Faunus sectors had been put under a complete lockdown. No one was allowed in or out. Yang understood it was for their safety as much as anything, but it was still annoying. They'd tried multiple different entries but though the soldiers were always courteous when they explained what they were doing, they wouldn't budge on their orders. Short of leaping over rooftops ̶ ̶ which likely would have led to one of both of them being shot at ̶ ̶ there had been absolutely no way in and they'd had to make the return journey to the hotel in bad, frustrated spirits after a long, cold day.

It had been much more difficult getting back. The fall of the sun had provided the spark for the saucepan to boil over. They'd had to dodge roving bands of mostly youths as they made good use of the chaos to break the law. Dozens of shops were looted and a few were burned to the ground, not because they were owned by  _White Fang sympathisers_  but just because someone wanted some fun.

Short of firing on them, the military could do little more than try to limit their movement, and it was up to the beleaguered police to try and stop them. Seeing two girls alone several of the groups of rioters had pegged them as targets.

Most of the time they'd just run from them. Though the rioters howled in exhilaration as they began to give chase, they had no chance of keeping up with two huntresses and soon dropped off. A few times they'd been cornered in an alley and the light level had been poor enough for them not to notice the colour of her eyes. They did notice the sounds of Ember Celica unfolding though, only once had she been forced to use them.

That time they hadn't been chased by bored youths but by those who seemed to be part of the criminal fraternity looking to make the most of the opportunity the unrest had given them. When she'd drawn her weapon the leader had gone for his, she hadn't given him the chance to even finish drawing it.

She'd fired a slew of buckshot at his knees and leapt in prepared to hammer a blow to his jaw only to find him on the floor in agony. Her opening salvo that had been meant to throw him off balance had instead torn through his Aura and into his flesh. His now apprehensive cronies had backed off and allowed them onto the street, but their leader had sworn through the pain that he would remember their faces.

It had taken them hours more to make it back to the district with the hotel. Of course the more prosperous areas had a much higher concentration of troops and a distinct lack of rioters. The street leading to the hotel had been entirely blockaded by both the Atlesian military and soldiers wearing the emblem of the SDC.

Despite them both having their room key cards, it had taken them a significant amount of time to actually get through the cordon. They'd both been dressed for a hard day of work outside and she suspected the soldiers thought the cards were stolen. They might have been out there all night ̶ ̶ especially as the mobile network had been switched off to stop the rioters coordinating ̶ ̶ if not for the arrival of a soldier wearing the familiar all black body armour and full faced helm who had waved them through.

They'd spent most of the night in the Penthouse with Ruby watching the Atlesian skyline light up with fires as more buildings were put to the torch. Weiss had been there as well, but she'd been receiving a constant stream of phone calls ̶ ̶ apparently the loss of the network hadn't affected her ̶ ̶ and spent most of it in the room she'd picked to be her office. At about one in the morning she'd left, flying to the Eiszapfen.

There had not been a third night of riots. Having attempted to appeal to the common sense of the general populace, Arian Schnee instead decided to appeal to their sense of self-preservation. Dozens of dawn raids by soldiers without markings on their body armour had taken place.

Those they arrested were ones who had been stupid enough to post irrefutable evidence of their crimes online, videos of themselves starting fires, kicking a Faunus while they were down, or trying to organise the unrest.

They were rushed through the military courts with the bare minimum legal counsel, found guilty, and executed all before midday. That was enough to quell all but the most ardent rioters and the few who persisted found that the soldiers on the streets were now less hesitant about the application of force.

The general population very quickly found out what the nobles had known for decades, Arian Schnee was not a man to be tested.

The bombing and the riots had left everyone on edge which is likely why their reception was so frosty. The moment they'd stepped from the taxi onto the road leading to the main military base thirty miles outside of the capital a dozen guns had been trained on them.

What normally would have been an incredibly boring guard detail had instead turned into a job that every soldier was taking with deadly seriousness. Most days the taxi would have been able to drive them right up to the gates, but with the possible threat of car bombs, concrete blockades had been set up across the road.

"Okay… don't make any sudden movements." Yang muttered to Blake out of the corner of her mouth, grinning nervously as she took in their welcoming party.

One or two rifles wasn't much of a problem for two huntresses, an entire squad of them, not mentioning the machine gun nests on either side of the road, were. If they'd been here with any hostile intent, they'd do well to cross the fifty feet to the gate. Of course only an idiot would try and go through the front.

"That's probably a good idea." Blake started off seemingly confident that they both weren't going to get filled with holes.

In truth Yang knew her nerves were probably baseless, none of the soldier's trigger fingers would be quite that itchy. Unlike the conscripts who had ruined the plan to defend their wall back in Vale, these were clearly career soldiers who would not fire without a definite threat. Two teenage girls walking towards them likely didn't constitute one, especially as they were both unarmed as requested. Her nerves were more a symptom of just how tense Atlas had been in the last few days.

The soldier that greeted them ran their credentials through his computer, gave them visitor badges, and instructed them to closely follow the green line painted on the concrete to the administrative building before waving them through.

Beyond the razor wire fence the base was eerily quiet. The facility itself was enormous, capable of housing thousands of the citizens of Atlas that were conscripted every year. Normally the air would have been filled with the shouts of drill sergeants, the grunting of their charges, the pounding of boots as units jogged or marched past, and the crack of gunfire from the range, the absence of the expected sounds was obvious.

Almost all the troops who had been stationed here had been deployed on active patrols in the city. If not for the non-combat personnel who were essential to keep a base of this size functioning, there would have been almost no one else in sight.

By some quirk of design the administrative building was a significant distance from the gate and the two of them followed the line under their feet in near silence looking around. Though the barracks were close to deserted, sparks flared out of the vehicle repair shops. There were dozens of armoured vehicles parked in rows, many bearing superficial signs that they had been the target of the rioters' ire.

In the distance past them, near the runway ants were crawling all over an aircraft parked in a huge hanger. In the air dreadnoughts seemed large, seeing them with people to scale made them look obscene. Atlas hadn't recovered from the loss of the Deliverance and likely wouldn't for years, but from the frantic activity in the hangar, it appeared they were determined not to lose another capital ship.

Gradually the different coloured lines on the floor peeled away until only their own remained. The only reason the receptionist didn't do a double take when she met Yang's crimson eyes was because they were hidden by a pair of dark glasses. She'd gotten tired of being on the receiving end of a surprised stare every time she met someone. Her hopes had been that they would have faded as she stopped drinking and spent time with Ruby and Blake, but then the White Fang had struck again and her rage had boiled to the surface once more. She was honestly at a loss as to when the world would allow her to feel normal.

She and Blake were directed to a spartan waiting room and Blake started leafing through a magazine that was only a few years out of date. Yang just sat, if what she'd heard about the military was correct she suspected they'd have to get used to killing time.

The bombing of the Council chamber of Tintagel Castle had killed almost a hundred people and the footage of the blast would was truly shocking, even to someone who had witnessed so much in Vale. One of few good news stories around was that Ozpin, someone who had been in the main chamber and whose name had been among the dead, had been pulled out of the rubble several hours later, singed, but very much alive.

Most thought it was a miracle and he'd gotten ridiculously lucky, Yang wasn't so sure. Having witnessed him fight, she had some idea as to the strength of his Aura and that hypothesis boiled down to it was likely orders of magnitude greater than any of theirs. It was entirely possible that his Aura had absorbed most of the blast that had levelled a building and once freed he'd walked away from it almost entirely unharmed. Once again she was forced to confront the question of just what he and the pyromancer were.

With the attack on their sovereign territory the Atlesian Supreme Court had thrown out the case raised against the legality of Ozpin's actions during Vale and allowed him to reclaim control of those he'd conscripted. Consequently they were now here, following the order to attend like good little soldiers, for someone who'd wanted to explore the world as a free spirit it was particularly galling. The door opened and her brooding was interrupted by a rather familiar voice.

"Now this is a surprise. Who'd have expected to find you two here?" Coco said; time spent in her hometown had caused her to slip back into her natural accent.

Yang jumped up, her mood lifting at the sight of girl framed in the doorway. Coco didn't number among her closest friends ̶ ̶ that honour was reserved for the other members of team RWBY ̶ ̶ but she was a good one.

One she hadn't seen or heard from in weeks. Too many of her friends had been scattered around the various cities of Atlas, either at the whims of bureaucracy or they were staying with relatives. It was part of what had driven her to despair.

Coco looked like she was coping much better. The usual confidence poured out of her in waves as she strutted into the room. It wasn't surprising to find her immaculately attired, Yang was unable to recall a single time Coco hadn't looked like she'd just stepped off a catwalk.

The only difference this time was that her clothes seemed to be more martial in nature than usual. She was wearing black leather, though black artfully trimmed with gold. Her jacket flowed almost seamlessly into her gloves which had metal ovals protecting her knuckles. Her waist was cinched tightly by a dark corset and contrast was provided by the brown shirt showing underneath. Her pants were skin tight, also black trimmed with gold along with her thigh high boots. Topped by a brown scarf, dog tags, and a beret. Short of the marks of rank she could very well have been mistaken for an officer.

"Nice look," Yang said after she'd finished her inspection.

"Thanks. It's my mission in life to impart even a modicum of fashion sense on these southern brutes."

Everyone knew there was an intense rivalry between all the cities of Atlas. What had once been very deadly conflicts had evolved into battles of social standings. Mostly the insults were good natured but it would have been amusing to see the aftermath of Coco calling Weiss an unfashionable brute.

The two of them hugged, an embrace that escalated in force after Coco, who was never one to back down from a challenger, responded in kind to Yang's usual bear hug. When they broke apart their cheeks were slightly flushed and they gave each other grudging nods of respect before turning to the others in the room.

As she usually did Velvet had snuck into the room under the cover of both Coco's metaphorical and physical shadow. The two Faunus had been conversing quietly before being interrupted by the embrace that was very nearly a wrestling match. Both were looking towards their more boisterous partners with an expression that spoke of world weary sufferance.

Rather than try and struggle through an explanation of the need to try and establish physical dominance, Yang instead approached Velvet with sorrow in her heart. She couldn't imagine just how hard everything had been for someone who was unable to hide her Faunus roots, Velvet needed to know that there were people who still cared about her. Brown eyes widened as the rabbit Faunus realised what Yang had in store for her and squeaked as the air was squeezed from her lungs.

"So how have you two been?" Blake asked when she'd pried Velvet from Yang's clutches.

"As well as can be expected. It's been pretty hectic to be honest." Coco answered.

"Have you been in Dione?" Yang guessed based on her limited knowledge of all where the major Atlesian families had their holdings.

"Yeah we just landed. I guess you two have been staying in Atlas with Weiss. From what I've seen it's been crazy here for the last few days."

"Weren't there any riots in Dione?"

"There were some right after the bombing, but most of the protests were peaceful. We don't have the number of bored and disenchanted low paid workers that Atlas has. The riots weren't about the bombing they were about having fun and sticking it to the man. The idiots. The one man you don't want to stick it to is Arian Schnee, I'm surprised only a few dozen died."

Yang had heard similar sentiments a couple of times since arriving in Atlas. The few things Weiss had revealed about her father had given the impression that he was an awful parent, but Weiss' words hadn't conveyed the very real fear many seemed to feel for him.

"Is he really that bad?" Yang voiced her train of thought.

Coco made to answer before hesitating, perhaps aware that she was talking about their friend's father. "I take it you've never met him?" Yang shook her head. "That much is obvious otherwise you wouldn't need to ask. Look I'm not going to lie, he is. You'd have to go a long way to find someone who's had dealings with him and has a single good word to say about him. He's incredibly intelligent and utterly ruthless; you saw how he stopped the riots.

"No one likes him. At one point or another he's insulted pretty much every family in Atlas, if he died people would be lining up to spit on his grave. There's always talk of standing up to him, but that's all it is, talk, and it will remain that way for one reason, fear. I'm scared of him, I'm not ashamed to admit that. My parents are scared of him, and so is anyone with half a brain. Do you know why? How he introduced himself to the world?"

Yang shook her head and Coco went on.

"His father was struck down with an illness when he was about twenty. Several Houses, House Osten chief among them, thought that was an ideal time to move into the SDCs markets and perhaps remove the Schnees once and for all. Back then they didn't hold a monopoly on Dust. Have you ever wondered why there is no competition for the world's most valuable resource? It doesn't make sense does it? Free markets and all that. Well it's solely because of Arian.

"They saw a young, naïve man more interested in women than business and they thought him vulnerable, they were so wrong. He was not being taught the trade by his father, he was being restrained. With the chains off he showed everyone just who he really was.

"The first thing he did was crash the global Dust market. He was losing millions every day, but so was everyone else, and the SDC were in a better financial position than most. It wasn't sustainable but it didn't have to be, he just had to outlast the competition. Few would ever dream of such a strategy, and even less would actually consider utilising it. Arian didn't care about the money or the tens of thousands who lost their jobs. It's what makes him so dangerous. All he cares about is his reputation, people just don't compare.

"That was enough for the majority of the Houses to bail, but House Osten hung in there so Arian escalated the situation. Almost every single Osten mine suffered a crippling accident in the space of a couple of weeks. A cave in, a Dust explosion, a Grimm attack. Thousands died. Everyone knew who was responsible, but no one could prove a thing and in the end no one wanted to. The Ostens were the SDCs only real competition, with them crippled anyone who questioned Arian would have to do so without Dust. All of House Ostens allies distanced themselves and started to sign contracts with the SDC. House Osten went up against an untried boy and he broke them."

The impromptu history lesson was giving Yang much to think over. She'd never been taught this at school, not that she'd paid attention during those classes. They'd mainly concentrated on the Kingdom of Vale before the Great War, Atlas was just too far away to cover in any sort of detail.

"What happened to them?" Yang asked.

"They died." Blake spoke in a chilling tone. "Even the children. Some got ill, some had accidents, others just disappeared. But anyone who bore the name Osten didn't see out the year."

Coco continued the story. "Arian sent a very clear message to what would happen to those who opposed him. He hasn't had to wipe out a house since then, but he's bankrupted several for the smallest insult. It's a black joke among us that if a Schnee comes for dinner, you don't count your silverware, you count your relatives. I've spoken to him once, a few sentences when I was a child, I was nervous beforehand, I was terrified after. His eyes are completely devoid of anything resembling humanity.

"So to answer your question: yes he is that bad. But now he's building an army and has complete control of the capital. The SDC was close to untouchable before, now it might actually be. People are scared of just what he's planning, just where he'd planning to stop, he already practically rules the world economically, it isn't that far a jump to him literally ruling it."

"Is that possible?" Yang couldn't comprehend the scale of what Coco was talking about.

Coco blew out her cheeks. "I don't know, it's just what I've been hearing after people have had a few drinks. No one knows the extent of the size of the security force the SDC will have when they're done. That's scary and that's discounting the SDCs Special Forces, you know the ones in black. All of us are capable of hiring a small force. Together we might be able to cause a stalemate, but gathering enough skilled hunters to match even what we saw in Vale would be far more problematic. Most of us don't train to fight anymore."

"Surely Weiss wouldn't…"

"Look Yang despite everything, who she is, I like Weiss. It's almost unbelievable that someone like her is Arian's daughter. But no matter what she's a Schnee. You're from Vale; you don't understand the importance that we place on our families here. I would put my family above almost anything else." Coco paused, glancing sideways as Velvet and the pair of them shared a smile. "Weiss would do the same, Winter wouldn't even hesitate. Even if Weiss didn't agree with her father's plans, what's she going to do? Arian holds the power. He's the one everyone's scared off, and not many would be surprised if Weiss had an accident."

Yang felt heat sear into her eyes. Once again any chance of them returning to their normal colour diminished. "He wouldn't."

"He might. Everyone knows that Winter is his heir, Weiss is a problem and there are very few ways around it. There's enough chaos at the moment that a solution might just present itself. If I were you I would make sure there's someone watching Weiss' back."

Surely despite everything she'd heard about Arian he wouldn't go so far as to arrange Weiss' death. Not when Weiss was brave and loyal and almost everything else that any sane person would want in a daughter. But was Arian sane? Coco certainly didn't seem to think so and she knew more of him than the rest of them.

Perhaps there was merit in her suggestion, but they couldn't stay with Weiss all the time and even if they somehow managed that, would they be able to protect her? Yang's mind flitted back to just how soundly she'd been beaten by Erashan; if he was sent to kill Weiss then even the two of them might not be enough. It was just one thing after another. As if worrying about everything else wasn't enough, now she had to worry about whether Weiss' father would kill her. As was so often the case the troubles of her past looked so inconsequential in comparison.

"Ms Adel, Belladonna, Scarlatina, and Xiao Long." A private about the same age as them addressed them from the doorway reading their names on a scroll. When they confirmed who they were he went on. "Right follow me."

He turned smartly on his heel and marched off, leaving the rest of them to hurry in his wake. Yang's stomach fluttered as she neared her fate, she had no idea why they'd been summoned but there was no doubt it wasn't good.

The private gestured them through a door into a rather large office. It was utilitarian as might be expected in a military base, all white walls and cheap furniture, the only splash of colour came from the Atlesian flag in the corner, but what drew her attention was the man seated at the desk.

Ozpin looked none the worse for his brush with death. With his fingers steepled before him he gazed at each one of them in turn over the tops of his glasses. When her turn came Yang didn't know just what he was looking for, but she sensed the weight of his presence. It was unlike any other persons' who she'd ever met.

"Please sit." His voice was sombre as he gestured to the four chairs arranged in front of him. "I'm pleased you were able to meet with me today."

_Like they had a choice_ , irrationally Yang felt her anger simmering once more, the summons they'd received had not been an invite, it had been a demand.

"How have you all been?"

Her jaw clenched shut. How'd he think they'd been? It was such an insincere question. Perhaps he honestly cared about them, but instead of trying to help everyone who'd been in Vale, he'd spent all his time in Atlas trying to maintain his grip of the Valesh forces. Only when he'd achieved that did he  _care_ about them. It was obvious he didn't want the truth anyway; it was just a socially accepted nicety that he ask. They all muttered something along the lines of fine.

"Good. Now I know you must be wondering why you're all here and the truth is simple, you are huntresses. You may not have finished your studies at Beacon, but you embody everything a huntress should be. As hunters we have a solemn duty to stand against evil wherever we find it and at the moment that evil runs rampant in Vale.

"I don't need to tell you what crimes the White Fang committed. You all saw them with your own eyes and you must know we cannot allow them to go unanswered. And if those crimes were not enough, they have now shown that Vale was not the limit of their ambition. They have struck against your homeland as well," he looked pointedly towards Coco. "In time they will attempt to repeat every atrocity they carried out in Vale here as well. We must stop them before they have the chance."

One of her recurring nightmares was becoming real. She could guess what point he was building towards and it was the one she'd been dreading ever since finding out that the her commitments to the Valesh military had not ended with the evacuation.

"In time we will retake Vale but first we need to build up a force capable of doing so. The White Fang will continue to hound us unless we start disrupting their operations at the root. You are some of the best I have ever seen at Beacon and I have no doubt you are more than capable of doing what I am going to ask of you.

"In forty eight hours you will be deployed to Vale. You are the perfect team to do so. You are the two strongest Faunus to have attended Beacon for years."

Out of the periphery of her vision Yang caught Blake's head snapping up from where she'd been staring at her lap as Ozpin nonchalantly revealed her secret to the others. Blake glanced nervously at the other pair but Coco just shrugged as though she'd already known and Velvet smiled reassuringly.

"Blake you won't be able to hide it any longer and nor should you want to. The situation in Vale has changed. It is now the humans who are looked down upon, and everything we've done to the Faunus is now being gleefully reversed. As a Faunus you will have opportunities the other two do not have."

"Then why are you sending them at all?" Blake asked anger in her tone.

Ozpin's expression darkened behind his glasses. "For reasons that should be obvious. One, they are your partners and you will need people to rely on and two, there is an underground resistance and some members of it will be hesitant to trust any Faunus."

"What so you expect us to work undercover? Has it escaped your notice that we're hunters not spies? And we're not exactly incognito seeing as most of us fought in the tournament. Surely you must have better people for this," Blake argued.

"I am well aware of your limitations Ms Belladonna. To answer your question I do have better people who are already in Vale. But you are all intelligent and capable of improvising, I'm not asking you to take down the White Fang single handed. You will mainly be acting as support for those with a greater aptitude for subterfuge."

"Who?"

"They will make themselves known to you after you successfully infiltrate Vale. If you're captured in the attempt it's better that you know nothing. As for being recognisable, it's easy enough to change your appearance, I'm sure you will be able to work something out."

"But why  _us_?" Blake stressed again.

Yang could sense the worry hidden just underneath the surface of Blake's tone and unlike anyone else in the room she knew it did not stem from the fear of going into a dangerous situation. The rest of them might be able to get away with changing their clothes, Blake wouldn't.

She was not going into the city just as a participant of the tournament, she was going into a city ruled by the organisation she used to belong to. How many members of the White Fang would be able to recognise her at a glance no matter what she did? The entire plan was dangerous for all of them, but it was absolutely deadly for Blake.

"We're just students." Blake gave Yang a grateful glance as she took her friend's side.

"You may have been students but can you honestly say you are anymore? And do you honestly believe that no one should fight back against the White Fang? I'd thought better of you both. If I don't send you someone else would have to go in your place, true hunters are meant to put the needs of others before their own."

It was so frustrating to not be able to tell him the reason why they were protesting so much, but she wouldn't reveal Blake's other secret. It was hers to tell. Vale was the last place Yang wanted to go, and though she understood that someone had to fight back against the White Fang, it couldn't be Blake.

"But ̶ ̶ "

Ozpin's voice grew much harder as he cut Blake off. "You seem to be under the misapprehension that I am asking you, I am not, I am ordering you. In ninety six hours you will be in Vale."

He and Blake stared hard at each other, and though Blake had glares that were capable of cutting through steel, they just bounced off the aura of authority that Ozpin exuded. He was no longer the slightly eccentric headmaster of Beacon instead he sounded like a general who expected to be obeyed. And the worst thing was he had the power to make them do anything he wanted.

When Blake finally lowered her eyes Ozpin looked at the other two. Though Velvet was slightly more pale than usual, to this point they had remained silent. When no more arguments emerged he passed out four dossiers.

Yang flicked through hers. It contained a recent map and photos of Vale and the area surrounding it, pictures of the apartment that had presumably been acquired for them, and profiles of some of the known White Fang members.

"We're going in through Mountain Glenn? I thought the White Fang destroyed the tunnels." Coco said.

"They were breached in a dozen locations but they should still be passable and will bring you out right beneath the industrial districts."

"Won't they be guarding the tunnels? And what about the Grimm?"

"We think it's unlikely. The White Fang completely vacated Mountain Glenn. They've no reason to post guards on the tunnels apart from to drive away any errant Grimm, but there are dozens of service hatches you will be able to break in through before the station. And as for the Grimm you might encounter some, but not in any significant numbers. You should be able to handle them."

" _Think, might, should,_ this isn't exactly the most sold intel I've ever been given." Coco continued to read through the documents. "And as far as I can tell there's no back up plan, no way of signalling a pick up once we get near Mountain Glenn."

"I admit that it's not as complete as I would like but it's what we have. The White Fang still haven't reactivated Vale's CCT so getting information out of the city is difficult at best. You'll be able to improvise in whatever way you desire and you're a strong enough team to handle any unexpected circumstances."

"But we're not a  _team_." Coco's tone took a slight hint of apology. "No offence, we all know just how good RWBY is, but you guys are first years. I can't see any hint of Fox or Yatsuhashi in here. Why are you splitting up CFVY? With all four of us we'd definitely be able to handle anything that arises."

"I did consider assigning those two to this mission, but their strengths are better used elsewhere. You four will be able to blend in, Fox and Yatsuhashi won't be able to, they stand out too much. You're forgetting getting into Vale is the easy part, it's what you have to do after that will be difficult."

"And just what are we going to be doing, I see lists of White Fang members. Do you expect us to assassinate them?" It was obvious just who had taken the mantle of leadership.

"In short yes." The curtness of the answer shocked everybody, even Coco. They were hunters not assassins. "You will disrupt White Fang operations in whatever way possible. If they are spending resources to fix something, you should break it. If they're building something you should tear it down. And if the opportunity presents itself you should kill any integral members of the White Fang. We are at war and everyone you kill is one who cannot kill another innocent."

They were all silent for a time. Yang didn't like this. It was one thing to kill someone in the middle of combat, she'd done it and though they occasionally showed themselves in her dreams, she understood those times it had been her or them. Purposefully and coldly planning someone's death was something that she didn't know if she had the stomach for.

Velvet surprised them all by softly speaking up, Yang had almost forgotten the quiet girl was there. "What about the woman? The one you fought, she's not in here."

Yang didn't quite manage to capture the kaleidoscope of emotions that flited over Ozpin's face but it ended with deadly neutrality. "If she's there it would be best if you stay away from her."

"Just who is she? What is she? How was she able to do what she did? And how were you able to stop her?" The stream of questions left Yang in a moment, but ever her fiery blood chilled when Ozpin glared at her.

"That is information that is not relevant to you in any way seeing as you will not be engaging her. I will tell you this though, she is one of the more powerful Dust users in the world. It is for your safety that I recommend avoiding her at all costs."

There was no way she was just a Dust user. It would have taken a truck of red Dust to fuel her fight with Ozpin, not just what they had on them, and that didn't explain just how both of them were able to withstand attacks that had levelled buildings.

"But if she's there we need to know something."

"You do. Stay away from her." Yang made to open her mouth again. "That line of enquiry is over," his tone was absolute. "Now is there anything else?"

With Yang still smarting from the rebuke to her perfectly reasonable question, Coco asked about several other aspects of their mission. Where they would be staying, what funds they would have available, just how they would contact the resistance when they were in place, and more, going over every minuscule detail that may affect them in some way, with Blake and Velvet chiming up every so often.

Now they had left the subject of the woman behind, Ozpin answered all her questions to the best of his knowledge, but Yang couldn't shake the feeling that the pyromancer was vital. Ozpin knew her somehow. Knew just who she was despite what he said. It was likely they would be forced to encounter her, but she also recognised it was beyond her to make him reveal any of it to them.

"The Bullhead will depart from here at nineteen hundred hours tomorrow, if that's everything, I wish you luck." Ozpin stood and held out his hand for all of them. "Remember the oaths you made when you started on the path to becoming a hunter, they are all the more important now. Honour the memory of those who died." After they'd all shaken he dismissed them.

Just before they reached the door Ozpin spoke for the last time. "Oh and Yang wish Ruby a happy birthday for me."

Yang was taken off guard. Through the entire meeting he had been solely in the persona of their commanding officer and yet here he was remembering the birthday of one of his old students. "I will."

Ruby's birthday was part of the reason she'd been so frustrated when she'd received the summons. Normally she would have spent the entire day with her sister doing whatever Ruby wanted and now it would likely be late before they managed to get back to Atlas. The dark corner of her mind informed her it might be the last of Ruby's birthdays she witnessed.

In the hall once they'd closed the door Coco turned on them. "Right let's go find a room and work out what we all need to do before we leave." For someone who had gotten used to Ruby's rather more passive leadership style Yang recognised it was going to take her a while to adjust.

After spotting an open office that was more of a closet Yang called out to them. "You two go ahead, I just need a word with Blake about Ruby's present." It was a feeble excuse but it was the best she could come up with.

Coco raised an eyebrow but nodded the affirmative and Yang dragged Blake into the office before shutting the door. There were about thirty hours before she'd be heading back to Vale, she didn't want to do it, but there was no way she could allow Blake to go.

"Blake you can't go back, you'll be recognised."

Blake spoke in a tired voice. "Yang don't you think I know that? Most of the upper echelon will recognise me on sight but I don't have a choice."

"You could tell him."

"Tell him what?" Blake's anger was almost palpable in the small room. "That I was a member of the terrorist organisation who we're fighting against? That would end one of two ways. Either he'd have me arrested and likely executed or he'd force me to prove my loyalty by sending me to Vale! Either way, he'd always have that over my head. You saw in there what I've known all along, he might play at being the kind headmaster, but underneath he's as ruthless as anyone who's ever made anything of themselves in this crappy world. We're just pieces on a board to him."

"Fine we don't go. We run away." Yang knew she was clutching at straws but she couldn't face losing Blake.

"And go where? Desertion is a capital offence. I'd go from only having the White Fang wanting to kill me, to just about everyone on the planet! And you'd be standing on the block right next to me. Our lives would be ruined. You're forgetting running from problems is what I do and it doesn't solve anything. I've lived while being hunted Yang, it's horrible. We'd never be able to settle down anywhere. Never be able to achieve anything with our lives. And what about Ruby? You'd never be able to see her again lest she be charged with collusion, are you ready for that?"

An all too familiar feeling was running rampant inside of Yang, helplessness. Blake's logic had torn gaping holes in the only solutions that had come to her mind. She was trapped on a path deep down she knew would end with tears.

"Then what?" Yang shoved a finger under her sunglasses to wipe away the moisture at the corner of her eyes. "At least I'm trying Blake, what's your plan?"

"I don't know ok? I don't have one." Blake turned away from her and looked out the small window. "Look we don't have a choice. Not if you don't want both our lives to be completely ruined. As long as I'm careful I should able to avoid everyone I used to know and maybe we'll be able to find a reason to stay out of the city, taking down patrols or something."

"That's it? Just hope you don't get spotted."

"It's all we have, there's no way out of this. I know you're scared. You'd be an idiot not to be, so am I, but we'll figure something out. We have a couple more days before we actually get to Vale." Blake hung her head and her voice took on a tone on dejection. "I'm sorry once again I'm nothing but trouble."

Framed by the window Blake cut a despondent figure. Her natural poise had vanished as all her old decisions came back to haunt her once more. Normally when Blake got like this she went off alone, to whatever solitary location she could find, but this time Yang wouldn't let her.

In the past couple of weeks Blake had been her rock, now it was her turn. She still didn't have a solution. She still wanted to shout at whatever god had made the pair of them its plaything, and she was sure it was only going to get worse from here, but it would get worse for them together.

Yang wrapped her arms around Blake from the back but softly, not squeezing tightly like normal. She relaxed control of her Semblance slightly so heat wafted around them and rested her chin on Blake's shoulder speaking into her ear. "You're not trouble. You're my best friend. We'll find a way through this. You're right we have a few more days, we're both intelligent we'll be able to come up with something and if we don't, we'll just improvise. It's going to be ok Blake."

It was a lie. There was no way she could say that with any conviction and they both knew it, but it was a lie made of silk and velvet. It was more comforting than the truth and at that moment they both chose to believe it.

Blake reached up and squeezed Yang's hands. "Thank you."

They stayed entwined for a few more minutes not saying anything but shared strength flitted back and forth between them. They would get through this… somehow. Eventually Yang released her.

"I suppose we better go and find the other two and work out just what we need."

"Yeah I guess. We should probably call Weiss as well and tell her that we might be a little late, you know how much she's been fretting over Ruby's party."

That was a call that probably wouldn't be pleasant, Weiss wanted to make Ruby's first birthday since they met special. It was a sentiment the rest of them wholeheartedly agreed with and they'd all been helping her, but now Yang knew about their deployment. It was even more special now. It would be their last evening together for who knew how long.

 


	11. Chapter 11

Seventy eight dead, another one hundred and ninety missing, three hundred and twelve injured, forty eight cases of arson, hundreds of cases of vandalism, and hundreds more other petty crimes. The consequences of the seventy two hours of unrest were still slowly filtering their way onto Weiss' desk.

The White Fang attack had caused unimaginable carnage. Tintagel Castle was a ruin again, the entire wing that contained the Council chamber was nothing more than a crater, several more had been gutted by fire despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters. The rest of the building had suffered from smoke and water damage.

It was entirely possible that when the firefighters and rescue workers had finished and the building inspectors and architects moved in, they would find that rebuilding the castle from anything other than the ground up was impossible.

The White Fang had somehow construed to line the floor underneath the chamber with Dust and explosives. How they managed it she had no idea and that had not been a pleasing notion to her father.

He'd put her in charge of countering White Fang operations and they'd carried out a massive attack in the heart of their city right under her nose. He'd spent fifteen minutes shouting at her, dredging up every insult he'd ever used to deride her, calling her worthless, telling her she didn't deserve to bear the family name before screaming at her to get out of his sight.

That the Atlesian security services had failed to prevent it as well didn't buy her any respite, it was all her fault. Shaking with rage she'd returned to her office and spent the next twenty minutes shouting at Erashan. He bore her displeasure with stony silence before undoubtedly going to shout at the next person down the chain of command. Inevitably the collective displeasure of the Schnees filtered all the way to the ears on the ground.

After she'd managed to calm down she'd regretted her actions but hadn't apologised. It would only show weakness. He'd always been fair to her and she owed him so much, but if her father was holding her to blame she had to blame the person who had failed to supply her with the intelligence.

In all honesty the most vexing thing was that neither of them had a clue how the White Fang managed it. To create a blast of that size the amount of Dust needed was colossal. So colossal that the paper trail should have been easy to track down, but it apparently didn't exist. It was possible that the White Fang had used some of the massive amounts of Dust they had stolen, but almost all of that had been in one of the other kingdoms.

Despite being the birthplace of the SDC the White Fang had always struggled to gain a foothold in Atlas. After generations of indentured servitude the Faunus were too downtrodden to rise up and the entire country was too ordered for the White Fang to be able to hide outside the cities.

If they had used stolen Dust they would have had to transport it to Atlas. That pointed to there being a significant number of corrupt or incompetent officials at the port facilities. But getting it to Atlas was trivial when compared to planting it beneath one of the most secure buildings on the planet.

There were cameras, seismic sensors, and hundreds of security personnel. Unless the White Fang had someone who could walk through walls and turn invisible it was surely impossible. And yet they'd managed it. She was hoping there would be some kind of clue buried in the wreckage. Some mitigating circumstance that she could present to her father to prove she hadn't made a mistake. Something that proved she wasn't the disappointment he'd always said she was.

And if the bombing hadn't been enough, the city had erupted with riots. It proved just how close civil society lay to the precipice of chaos; it only took one thing to send it all crashing down.

She'd done her best to try and protect the Faunus who were bearing the brunt of the city's displeasure. The moment her father had assumed emergency control of the city, she'd directed troops towards the Faunus sectors.

They arrived too late to save those who had been murdered in the initial wave of violence but they were able to help those whose homes had been set ablaze. She wished she could have acted quicker but no one could have expected the situation to turn so rapidly.

The following night should have been quiet. There had been protests during the day, but they had been largely peaceful. The renewed riots when the sun set had surprised most people. Despite the number of troops on the streets, they were ill equipped for quelling unrest and had only managed to prevent the rioters from moving into more critical sectors. The protection of the rest had been left to the police.

Of course that had been her fault as well. Even though both her father and Winter were also directing operations within the city, she was the one who should have stopped the second night of riots. She'd been too soft, too stupid, and her father told her in no uncertain terms what he expected her to do.

It had shocked her but only for a moment. She'd always had a unique insight to her father that most didn't get to see. When necessary he could be almost unspeakably cruel and callous. Signing the warrants had been hard. It was harder than authorising operations against the White Fang; they deserved everything that was coming to them.

The people on the warrants perhaps didn't. Though some were irrefutably responsible for the murders that had taken place, others had just been in close proximity, and a couple had merely posted inflammatory messages online. Though she saw the logic behind blaming those few words as perhaps being catalysts for the deaths, it was hard to equate that action with the punishment her father desired.

Hard but not impossible. Her signature had not been its usual flowing self and had gotten steadily worse, but it had been legible. She'd had to remind herself a dozen times that their actions had caused the deaths of so many, that the law had to be respected, and in the end she'd resorted to trying not to link the name on the warrant with the crime, but to group them all as one. It made it easier, slightly, but in the end she'd done precisely what her father had asked of her.

Starling had taken the sheath of documents and dispatched them to the legal department and wherever Erashan and his strike teams were standing by. She'd followed the raids on the TV. It had scared her to actually be able to witness just how much power she wielded.

The reports of ADRG's operations against the White Fang that made their way to her desk were concise and plain. They were not really able to convey the full meaning of these strikes. Seeing video feeds of multiple residences being hit around the city made the results of what in reality was a mere word from her seem so much more real.

Deep down she knew the warrants weren't necessary. So many of ADRG's assignments fell into a grey area of legality. Though companies were allowed to use lethal force to protect their facilities, preventative and retaliatory strikes did not strictly fall under the same legislation. And that discounting some of the other things she was sure ADRG had done for her father. Operations that had not been recorded, ones where important people had accidents.

Those who had carried out the raids cared little about the legality of their actions; they relied on their anonymity and the power of the SDC to protect them. She knew that if she added another name to the warrants they wouldn't have batted an eyelid. As a huntress she'd been powerful. Armed with a pen she was several orders of magnitude more so.

She'd forced herself to watch the court proceedings of forty three people she'd sentenced to death. They'd been tried in mass in a military court ̶ ̶ with the city under martial law, civil process had been suspended ̶ ̶ and given the minimum representation that was necessary. Not that it would have mattered. The three senior officers had been briefed as to which verdict to give.

Thankfully the executions themselves weren't recorded so she hadn't been able to torment herself by forcing herself to watch the consequences of her actions. Even though the swift punishment quelled all but the most ardent rioters, her work had by no means been done.

With the riots dissipated the clean-up needed to be orchestrated. With the authority her father now wielded the responsibility ultimately fell to her and Winter. That was why she was still at her office at two in the morning on Ruby's birthday.

To her birthdays were just a normal day. They certainly weren't something to be celebrated. It had probably been different once, but those memories had faded. Though she was aware of just how strange that notion would be to some people, Ruby among them.

Considering everything Ruby was going through and just how strong she'd been, it had been her intention to devote herself entirely to Ruby today. She'd booked the day off, planned the entire day's activities with Yang helping her, and ensured it would all come together flawlessly. Sadly her preparations hadn't taken into account terrorist attacks and riots.

In the last seventy two hours she'd been with Ruby for about fifteen, and asleep for less. She was exhausted but despite knowing Ruby would have gone to bed alone, there was no way she could go home yet. There was still far too much to do.

The majority of civil servants who should have been dealing with the aftermath of the riots were the same who people had been in Tintagel Castle when the bomb went off. No reasonable person could have expected the survivors to return to work after only a couple of days and consequently what should have been their burden fell upon the SDC and that meant her.

It didn't help that the SDC was understaffed; many had chosen not risk a commute across the city and instead were working at home where possible or just nor working at all. It was troubling but they would have to take disciplinary action against half the staff who worked in the Eiszapfen if they chose to make a big deal of it.

The collective absence had at least vindicated her in another one of her questionable decisions. Starling had come in everyday and had worked almost as long as she had. The trouble in the city meant that both that her usual child minder was unavailable and the childcare facilities in the Eiszapfen were deserted. Consequently she'd had bring her daughter with her.

Lily was currently curled up under a blanket on one of the sofas near her mother's desk. She was an incredibly quiet girl. Most children her age would have been bored and restless at the prospect of having to spend their days in an office. But Lily had been content to watch films on her mum's scroll or play almost silently with the few toys she'd brought.

She was shy as well. Anytime Weiss had walked into the room to speak to her mother, Lily had nervously stopped playing to peek at her. When they'd been introduced Weiss had only managed to extract one or two word answers from her as she hid behind her mother's leg. She supposed the giant building and probably she herself must have been very intimidating for someone that young. That wasn't even mentioning what had been happening in the city.

It had taken until the second day for Lily to become a little more comfortable in her presence. It had happened almost by fluke, her office door had been left open and Lily had peeped inside. Rather than be scared away by the austere office her mouth had fallen open and she'd been drawn in like a moth.

Weiss had only noticed her when she saw a small shape walk past her desk out of the corner of her eye. Initially the movement in the periphery of her vision had caused her countless hours of training to kick in and she'd flared her Aura preparing for an attack, but Lily hadn't been focussed on her in the slightest.

Her mind had been captured by the large floor to ceiling window, or more accurately the cityscape beyond it. Lily had walked right up to the glass and just stood there her eyes wide with awe. It was unlikely that Lily had ever been this high up or seen the city that was her home from what was effectively the sky. The childish innocence at a sight Weiss was ashamed to say she barely noticed anymore had a broad smile stretching her cheeks. It was a welcome release after such a trying day.

Starling had rushed in a few minutes later, the anxiousness on her face fading as she found the person who'd managed to slip away from her. For a moment both the adults had just watched the young girl, Starling's smile growing to match Weiss'. The world was too cruel to interrupt something as precious as that.

When the trance had finally been lifted, Lily had turned round to find them both staring at her, her face screwing up in confusion and distress. Starling had hugged her then and in that embrace it was only too clear to see just how much she loved her daughter, Weiss knew that if it came to it Starling would move mountains for her.

Starling had apologised softly for the interruption before attempting to lead her daughter away, but Lily hadn't wanted to leave the window. Unlike so many it was a problem that had an easy solution. After Weiss insisted she was happy to have her there, Starling had brought in a few cushions from one of the sofas along with Lily's toys and set them up in the corner of the office next to the glass.

In reality Weiss was grateful for her presence; the gentle sounds of Lily playing broke up the monotony of shuffling papers and the clatter of keys. Gradually Lily had become more comfortable around her and before long she'd quietly asked for a drink. Weiss had been only too happy to fetch it for he; not only did it build a bond of trust between them, but it was a blessed distraction from her work.

Weiss finished reading and signed off yet another damage report. A Faunus tenement had been burned down. Thankfully everybody had escaped mostly unharmed but before the owner could start negotiating with their insurance firm, the police report had to be completed. As the main suspect was one of the people who been executed it had landed on her desk.

She threw it on the pile that was coming close to obscuring her view of the door and reached for another. Her fingers scraped along the bottom of her in-tray. Weiss rubbed her eyelids sure the haze that had settled on her during the last few mind numbing, tedious hours was causing her to hallucinate, but when she reopened her stinging eyes the tray remained empty.

For a moment her body went slack as she flopped back into her chair, blowing out her cheeks in relief. If anyone thought writing reports for teachers was bad, they should really try her job for a day. They'd want to go back in a heartbeat.

Weiss stood. Her back clicked and she dug her knuckles into it. True to her doctor's words, it had healed significantly, but despite the excellent posture that had been drilled into her as a child, sitting anywhere for hours at a time caused it to ache.

Her legs carried her on a perambulation of her office as she tried to alleviate the deep lying discomfort. She'd always preferred the sight of Atlas at night to day. By day, significant portions of the city just looked dirty, the walls blackened by pollution, dirt ground into the slush. At night that was all hidden by the incandescence of lights.

Normally Atlas was a city that never slept, but with the curfew still in place most of the streets were entirely empty. It was almost unnerving to see not a single car travelling along the main roads, but that was the power her family now held, the ability to shut down the largest city in the world between dusk and dawn. Thankfully it wasn't snowing. Though she'd always been enchanted with the appearance of fresh snow, it proved too much of an obstacle to the clean-up efforts.

With the pain receding, Weiss picked up the stack of forms, and padded out of her office on bare feet. Her heels had been abandoned in the pursuit of comfort over propriety. Starling was diligently working on whatever she deemed most pressing, though her typing speed had dropped significantly from her norm and it was only too clear just how exhausted she was.

"Starling, sort these out and then go home." Weiss said quietly as she put the reports down on the edge of the desk, careful not to wake Lily.

"What about you?" With just the two of them around, Starling felt more comfortable talking to her as a friend not a superior.

"I've got a couple more things that I need to do, but it won't take too much longer." It was a lie and they both knew it.

"Weiss, you must be as tired as I am."

"I'm more use to this than you are." Her statement was ruined slightly by the yawn she had to hide behind her hand. It was obvious that Starling was about to argue with her, so she appealed to her mother's instinct. "Lily deserves to sleep in her own bed not on a hard sofa."

Starling's eyes turned towards where her daughter was curled up and Weiss could see her weighing the decision in her mind. "Fine but none of this is urgent," she gestured at the other reports piled nearby. "They can wait, please get some sleep tonight."

Weiss nodded before gesturing at Lily. "I'll watch her."

She leant against the desk as Starling left the room with the reports. Even on the hard sofa Lily was splayed with the looseness of youth and Weiss was incredibly envious of her. Lily wasn't the legal heir to the largest company in the world, she might not have a whole lot of money, but she had a parent who loved her ever so much, and like all children her worries extended only as far as her next meal. Despite how horrific her childhood had been, Weiss found herself wishing for the simplicity of it; it was so much easier than her current situation.

Leaving Lily sleeping peacefully she walked to the kitchen next door. After the long day her body craved caffeine. Her recent intake had been a lot higher than usual, but it was impossible to avoid it. While in normal circumstances she could get by with only a few hours sleep per night, in the last few days she hadn't managed even that. No one could function effectively like that without some help, but despite the longing Weiss filled a glass with just water. If she had coffee this late she may as well kiss any prospect of sleep goodbye.

On the way back to her office she glanced towards Winter's brightly illuminated one. Her sister had been working just as hard as she had, but despite how they were splitting the work it just kept piling up. It was a result of their father's controlling nature. The SDC was structured so he had to approve every major decision and could make every department dance to his whims. In normal circumstances it was fine, but with the SDC now effectively acting as the government of Atlas the three of them had had to divide that up on top of their normal responsibilities.

Starling returned a short time later having filed the reports and made her promise again to get some sleep, before picking up Lily gently in her arms and heading to the elevator. Weiss watched them leave. Though the curfew ensured that even the limited night public transport wasn't running, the moment Starling had insisted on coming in she'd set aside one of pool cars and a driver for her. It was a lot safer and less troublesome that way.

With the room feeling an awful lot emptier Weiss returned to her desk and passed through a series of identity checks on her computer. Starling was right in saying none of the work she knew about was urgent, but Starling wasn't aware of the extent of what she did.

As far as her assistant was concerned whenever she scheduled a meeting with Erashan it was simply to discuss security as was his job title. It was not for him to brief her on the operations of ADRG, and they were currently planning a big one.

Her father had given her very specific instructions as to what their response should be to the bombing of Tintagel Castle. In a completely neutral tone, he had told her to respond in kind. It was obvious what he wanted, he wanted hundreds of very visible deaths, and she was the one who had to organise it.

It had to be her, because he would have settled for ordering a like for like strike against Vale's own government building. The city's air defences likely weren't capable of downing ADRG's aircraft and a few high explosive bombs would be able to achieve the casualty count he was after. If she ordered that maybe she'd be able to win his approval. Of course, all for the low cost of her becoming just like the people she was fighting against.

Though she had ordered so many strikes that they blurred together in her head, they had all been against members of the White Fang. If she struck directly against Vale, she would be attacking civilians. To her father their lives didn't matter, they were just Faunus supporting the terrorist organisation that was hounding them, but to her they did.

It was so hard sometimes to keep hold of the oaths she had sworn when she had taken her first steps to becoming a huntress, and though they were undoubtedly sullied by her actions, they were still just in her grasp.

With no reasonable conscience could she order an attack where innocents would make up the majority of the death toll. Instead of striking the easy target she had instructed Erashan to find her alternate ones.

That was what she was looking at now. Mines that the White Fang were attempting to repair, factories they were building, and other so far unexplained gatherings that some of their reconnaissance flights had managed to find.

No matter how much she wanted to be there when Ruby woke up tomorrow, she couldn't put this off. It had already been necessary to make several excuses to her father and she could see his patience was thinning. Before too long he would go over her head, and the weight of the deaths of the innocents would fall on her shoulders.

Ruby probably wouldn't understand why she was putting work before her especially on her birthday. So far Weiss had been entirely unable to build up the courage to tell her just what she was doing. Though they had never discussed it, it was obvious just how much Ruby loathed killing and anyone who carried such a heinous act, including herself. While unconscious she'd made that much clear to the person lying next to her, Ruby relived killing the sniper again and again. If that wasn't enough Weiss knew what Ruby had seen her do back in Vale must have formed a large part of her issues. She didn't want to think about what Ruby would do if she ever found out her girlfriend had ordered the deaths of hundreds.

Weiss stifled another yawn. She could go home right now. Wake Ruby up with breakfast. Spend the day with her just like she'd planned; but people would suffer because of it. So instead as the cracked moon sailed across the sky she sat at her desk and weighed up one target against another, trying to find a compromise that would meet her father's expectations.

Her eyes began to droop and she forced them back open,  _just a few more minutes then I'll call it a night_  Weiss thought to herself. She'd make a shortlist and decide first thing in the morning, after she went home and slept.

As time passed the rays of moonlight laboriously crept across the plush carpet, up the metal legs, over the normally pristine but now cluttered desk, and illuminated a loose expanse of alabaster hair scattered over the keyboard. It climbed the gossamer strands until it lit up the face of Weiss Schnee, who, with her head cradled in her arms, was sleeping quietly at her desk.

 

* * *

 

Panicked breaths filled the room and Ruby sat bolt upright throwing the quilt off of her body. Shadows gathered in the corners of her vision and her Aura flared instinctively as they dove for her, but they never hit.

In the infinitesimal chasm of the moments between frantic heartbeats, she was once again forced to confront the reality that it had all just been a dream. There weren't Grimm about to attack her, the White Fang hadn't raided her bedroom, it was just something conjured by her troubled mind.

As she had been told to Ruby tried to focus on her breathing. In for four, hold for six, then out for eight. All she needed to do was concentrate on the pattern and just block out the feel of her sweat stained clothes and cramping muscles.

It was so simple and yet it worked. The tangible response of her body to her thoughts brought her the grasp of control that had been robbed from her as she was nothing more than a passenger in her dreams.

It took a few more minutes for her heartbeat to die back down to something resembling normalcy but when it did Ruby realised something that she should have instantly.

There was no hand on her back, no comforting words, no trace of her favourite scent in the world, no presence of someone who cared irrevocably about her. She was alone. A glance at the clock told her it was early enough that Weiss wouldn't have left for work yet; outside the first tentative glow of the sun was just beginning to outline the horizon.

It was obvious that Weiss hadn't come home last night, again. And as had happened before the dreams she thought she was free of had begun to resurface. Ruby pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them.

It was unfair. She'd got so close to beating it, so close. Her routine, her days filled with activities, treating Weiss with breakfast, they'd been helping so much. Where before her nightmares had torn her out of her sleep every few hours, more recently sometimes she only had a single bad dream or on rare occasions none at all.

She'd been making real progress. Everything was looking up and then it had fallen apart. Once again the fault lay with the White Fang. They existed just to bring misery and terror to everyone else. In Atlas she'd made the mistake of starting to feel safe, as though she was beyond their reach, and they'd proved her wrong.

She just wished people could get along, that they wouldn't do all these horrific things to each other. She'd never felt the urge to hurt someone, so why did others? She knew her problems were minuscule when compared to the true victims of the attack, but the bombing had ripped up the few firms pegs she'd been able to fix in the ground.

Weiss had been working harder than ever, Celeste had cancelled their appointments while the city rioted, and with most things closed her daily rambles had been stopped. Once again she'd had to spend the majority of the time inside the apartment, alone, just like she was now.

A solitary tear slide down her cheek.  _Alone_ , on her birthday. She'd wanted to share the occasion with Weiss so much. It was her first birthday since they'd started going out, Weiss had had promised to take the entire day off, to make the day special, and yet she wasn't here.

Ruby's mind wasn't fully capable of analysing all the different emotions that were roiling in her chest. Anger at Weiss for lying, at the White Fang, sorrow for herself, and longing for companionship on a day that she'd never been alone on before.

Forlornly Ruby got out of bed and explored the penthouse hoping against hope that she was wrong and Weiss was here. The apartment was cool, deserted, and utterly unremarkable. There were no decorations, no birthday breakfast set out on the table, no presents. It was just like every other day.

When her search came up empty Ruby grabbed her scroll and flipped on the TV, promptly changing from the depressing news channels ̶ ̶ they always treated any disaster with glee ̶ ̶ to a channel showing old sitcoms. With canned laughter filling the room, she went through her messages.

And if it was possible they made her feel worse. Her scroll didn't flash with unread notifications instead it sat inert and lifeless. Her last message from Weiss was one informing her that she might be coming in late.

From Yang, Blake and all the rest of her friends she hadn't even had a short message. The part of her mind that wasn't determined to be depressed reminded her that it was still early and it was unlikely they were up yet.

But that didn't help where her dad and uncle were concerned. Despite being given the opportunity to evacuate with the rest of the citizens they'd chosen to remain behind on Patch. The short message they'd handed the SDC employee Weiss had tasked with finding them had explained why and she could almost understand it.

It didn't stop her being scared though. She knew they were both talented hunters, but what could they do against the whole White Fang, when even all the people in Vale hadn't managed to stop them? Some of her more inventive nightmares showed them being gunned down as they tried to protect their neighbours, executed for trying to defend innocents.

If they'd just been able to send her a message, tell her they were alright, it would have lifted part of the burden from her shoulders. But with the Vale CCT still down that just wasn't possible. She was sure that at least their messages would have been on her scroll if they were able to send them.

Sitting on the sofa in her sleepwear Ruby was almost determined to mope around all day. That when Weiss finally got in she'd know that her broken promise had ruined her girlfriend's birthday and she would feel guilty. Ruby pictured the despondent look that she knew would appear on Weiss' face and it gave her pleasure.

But only for a moment. Then she felt the deep bite of shame. It wasn't Weiss' fault. She'd done her best and the world had just conspired against her. So Weiss was busy with work, it didn't matter. Though it was her birthday, the main reason she'd been looking forward to it so much was they had planned to spend the day together. It wasn't just her day, it was both of theirs.

If Weiss had to be at work, the least she could do would be to try and make the burden a little lighter for her. As her mind worked, Ruby felt the darkness lift from her mood and exhilarated energy take its place. It might not be possible to make Weiss breakfast like she normally tried to do, but surely Weiss would need lunch, they could eat it together, in Weiss' office if need be.

They hadn't lost a day together; she'd gained an opportunity to surprise her girlfriend. The city should be getting back to normal, the market would be open, and being up this early meant there was plenty of time until midday. Ruby leapt up, a smile on her face, and got to work.

 

* * *

 

As soon as she stepped around the corner, Ruby couldn't help but look up. It was something that just seemed to happen when she was stood at the foot of a tall building or cliff, the summit would draw her eye. The buildings in the more affluent districts of Atlas did brush the clouds, but they were nothing when compared to the Eiszapfen.

The headquarters of the SDC had to be half as tall again as the next office building and she was unable to rightly guess just how many floors it had. It was intimidating. She didn't feel like she belonged in its shadow.

There were hundreds of people rushing about, most leaving the building for an early lunch, but they were all wearing expensive suits. With her red cloak, rucksack, skirt and black tights, she certainly didn't meet the dress code. A few of the people who had to dodge around her as she stood still gawping shot her disapproving looks.

But nevertheless she'd come here for a reason and she went against the throng making her way towards the base of the enormous building. It wasn't particularly hard for her day to have improved from how it had started out, but it had.

Birthday messages had begun to trickle in as people woke up. Yang's and Blake's had come almost at the same time. Although it was a little disappointing that they were apparently busy until later, she was sure they had a good reason. Nora and Ren had sent her a joint one, Coco and Velvet had also sent her the best wishes, and so had a few more from Beacon. Very wisely she chose not to think of who was no longer able to wish her happy birthday.

Ruby stepped through the revolving glass door and was hit by a blast of warm air, though by Atlas' standards the weather was mild, it was still too cold to be a comfortable working environment. Stepping into the atrium of the Eiszapfen Ruby had to smile ruefully. As much as she'd tried to get use to the need for the Schnees to impress, some things were just ridiculous.

The largest water feature she'd ever seen rose literal stories into the air. It was formed of jutting glass and crystal spires made into a forest of upwards icicles. A torrent of water cascaded from their tips, and ethereal blue and white lights glowed from inside them. It was as beautiful as it was gaudy, but it also didn't seem to follow a pattern. The random variation in the size and height of the spikes gave the mass a twisted off-centre symmetry ̶ ̶ an almost balance.

Above it were dozens of balconies where one could look down on the atrium and all those balconies were dotted with people going about their work. It was often difficult for her to associate her girlfriend Weiss with Ms Schnee, the person who all these thousands of important looking people called their boss. It always made her feel insecure. What on Remnant could Weiss see in her?

Just standing in the middle of the atrium she was causing a little bit of a commotion as people were rapidly having to alter their courses, and a few bumped into her anyway. Ruby fixed her eyes on the main desk, settled her rucksack more firmly on her shoulders, and prepared to do one of the things she hated most, talking to new people.

"Hi," Ruby tried to sound more confident than she actually was.

One of the immaculately groomed and beautiful receptionists greeted her with a perfect white smile. "Good morning, how may I help you?"

"Uhh… I'm here to see Weiss Schnee." The receptionist's stare was unnerving and Ruby was left really wishing she'd worn something smarter.

"Ok," the receptionist didn't quite manage to keep the scepticism out of her voice. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No," she was just starting to realise that she hadn't thought this through. Her intention had been to surprise Weiss but she hadn't paid any attention to just how to get to her office.

"Well I'm afraid she's very busy and without an appointment you won't be able to see her."

"No, you don't understand she's my friend, and I've brought her lunch. It's meant to be a surprise."

"Right," the receptionist was probably having a hard time believing the girl wearing a red cloak was friends with a Schnee. "Miss I'm sorry but you can't see her without an appointment."

The frustration and nerves were mixing in her stomach. She'd always been bad with confrontations; she normally tried to avoid them at all costs. Her mind just seemed to lock up and people would be able to talk rings around her, even if she'd been in the right, and it was only several hours later that what she should have said came to her.

"Look, I just want to surprise her, I was her partner at Beacon." Ruby's voice was pleading but it just seemed to bounce straight off of the receptionist's makeup.

"Miss if you don't have an appointment my hands are tied."

Ruby was just about to try and argue some more when a cool and cultured voice sounded from right behind her. "Ruby?"

She spun around and was treated to the vision that was Winter Schnee. The receptionist she was talking to may have been beautiful by any reasonable standard but she dwindled into insignificance in Winter's presence.

"I thought it was you." Winter continued inclining her head fractionally towards the red cloak. "What are you doing at the Eiszapfen?"

Staring into the eyes that were so like the storm clouds that gathered above Atlas was more unnerving than facing down the disdainful receptionist. Ruby had never quite managed to get over her first impression of Winter. The one who had broken into their room, who had flitted between multiple personas before insulting her so profoundly. The one who had hurt Weiss so much.

But she was also the one who'd saved Weiss. When Weiss had been lying unconscious in the hospital bed Winter had visited. The pair of them hadn't talked all that much ̶ ̶ she still didn't think Winter liked her, but it also didn't seem as if Winter disliked her ̶ ̶ but it was obvious that despite any outward appearance Winter loved her sister. For Weiss' sake the pair of them had to try and get along.

"I brought Weiss lunch." Ruby said gesturing towards her rucksack.

"Didn't she send someone down to meet you?"

"She doesn't know I'm here, it's meant to be a surprise."

"Then how did you… never mind." Winter turned to the receptionist. "Give her a visitor's badge."

"Yes Ms Schnee," she was visibly paler than before, fearing that she'd insulted someone who was apparently on first name terms with both of the Schnee daughters.

When the badge was fixed to her front, Winter led Ruby over to the elevators. She noticed Winter exuded the same kind of aura that Weiss did, despite how many people were rushing around none came to within three feet of her. It was as though she was surrounded by an invisible force field.

Winter pressed her thumb to a small pad and an elevator door different from the rest slid open. Ruby stepped inside and glanced out the large curved window that faced the atrium before the elevator started accelerating so smoothly she almost missed it.

As they rose up the fountain began to take on a new perspective; from above its true design manifested itself. From the ground floor the spires appeared to be placed randomly, but looking down from any of the balconies, together they formed a giant snowflake, the sigil of House Schnee.

"How have you been Ruby?" Winter's voice tore her attention away from the window.

"Uhh… fine thank you." With them both trapped in an enclosed space Winter's presence seemed to crush her against the glass. She didn't know how anyone's gaze could be that intense for such a simple question.

"That's good to hear. And how has Weiss been?"

"Fine," she might have answered slightly too quickly for Winter's eyebrows arched. The other thing she was noticing now that she was so close to Winter was just how much her scent was like Weiss'. It was incredibly disconcerting, the same perfume, the same shampoo, even the same detergent.

"And how has she been sleeping?"

For a moment Ruby considered trying to lie. Even if she doubted her ability to deceive Winter, it was Weiss' problem to share, but then she reconsidered. Winter had shown genuine concern for Weiss before and maybe she'd know a solution.

"Not as well as I'd like, she's awake most of the time, I think she only manages a few hours per night, if that."

Winter stared out the window, even though it had transitioned to black as they rose higher than the hollow part of the building. It was a few moments before she spoke. "She's done that in the past, I thought she looked tired, but she'd never admit it, not to me. The past few days have been hectic, but it should be calming down. Do something for her."

"I will." She might not have been as good as reading people as Weiss was but the very real concern was obvious in Winter's tone. The additional confirmation of the thawing relationship between the two sisters brought a smile to her face. Any further conversation was curtailed at the doors slid open.

They were on a landing with plush white carpet and there were a number of large doors set into the walls. Winter pointed towards a pair of them. "That's Weiss' office. It's been pleasant talking to you," she immediately began to walk off.

"Thank you," Ruby called after her, still somewhat amazed that a conversation with Winter had improved her day. Not to mention without her assistance she'd still be in the atrium.

Still a little nervous Ruby poked her head through the indicated doors. They didn't lead Weiss' office like she'd expected, but rather to something like a waiting room. A blonde woman sitting behind a large desk looked at her quizzically.

"Can I help…" she trailed off slightly. "Ruby? Ruby Rose?"

"Yes," it was incredibly disconcerting for a stranger to know her name. She had no idea how Weiss managed it all the time. "Who are you?"

The woman got up and walked towards her, holding out her hand. "I'm Starling, Weiss' personal assistant. It's good to meet you."

Some of the things Weiss had told her were beginning to connect themselves in her head. She'd mentioned Starling several times, though hadn't given much of a description.

"You too, is uhh Weiss here?"

"Yes, she didn't inform me you were coming though."

"It's a surprise, I brought her lunch" Ruby repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.

Starling gave her a slightly strange look. "Right, I guess you can go straight in then."

_Why did everyone seem to find it so hard she wanted to surprise Weiss?_ Even if they didn't know they were in a relationship people surprised their friends all the time. Her social insecurities almost made her abort her plan,  _was she being weird?_

But with Starling watching she couldn't leave, especially after actually managing to get here. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as her feet carried her closer to the doors. Weiss had called her a few hours ago. Apologetic and remorseful she promised continually to make it up to her and though Ruby had told her it was ok she didn't think Weiss believed her.

The door yielded easily to her touch and the sight it revealed caused her lips to turn up. One of her favourite things about being in a relationship was how her heart seemed to jump in her chest whenever she saw Weiss. It was incredible.

Weiss hadn't noticed her yet, so intent was she on the document she was reading and Ruby just drank in her appearance. Despite how Weiss had apparently slept at the office, she still somehow managed to look beautiful and Ruby was forced to count her blessings again that for some reason someone like that had consented to go out with her.

Ruby couldn't keep the laughter from her voice as Weiss finally glanced up, raised a hand in acknowledgement and carried on reading, before doing a double take. "Hi."

"Ruby… what… how… how did you get up here?"

Seeing Weiss flustered made the whole trip worthwhile, it was something that didn't happen all that often. "If I told you that my appearance wouldn't be all that mysterious now would it?" she said trying to keep an air of mystique in her voice.

"Really how did you get past security? Did you steal that badge?" Weiss said more sternly.

"That's for me to know," Ruby said letting the door swing shut and stepping round the desk until she was standing next to Weiss' chair. "Now do you have anything you want to say to me?"

Weiss grimaced. "I'm sorry, I had a lot of work that needed to be done and I fell asleep and ̶ ̶ "

The apology cut off as Ruby touched her finger to Weiss' lips. "No, that's not it. I'm looking for two words about what day it is." Most of the time she let Weiss take the lead in their relationship, but today was special.

"Happy birthday?" Weiss said still somewhat questioningly.

"Exactly. And can you guess what present I want?"

Ruby didn't give her time to answer instead bending down and kissing her. Weiss seemed startled at first but quickly managed to catch on and the kiss grew deeper as they both opened their mouths. With how she was leant over Weiss maintaining her balance was difficult, especially as her mind clouded with euphoria, but she managed it.

The kiss lasted until they had to come up for air, both rather more flushed than they had been moments before. It was obvious just how much Weiss had needed that, some of the tension that had been quivering just underneath the surface had vanished. Ruby couldn't help but picture Weiss on the massage table; it was about time for another.

Ruby stepped back and sat on the edge of desk, her cloak dislodging some of the neat piles of paperwork. "Thank you for the present Weiss."

"You're, uhh… welcome," Weiss said still not entirely having recovered her wits.

Sitting on Weiss' desk she was treated to the view out of the panoramic window. If she hadn't just kissed her girlfriend she would have to have said it was the most amazing thing that she'd experienced today. Still, it came close.

Though their penthouse had an almost unparalleled view of the city, the view from Weiss' office outmatched it by some way. Certainly if it had been her office, her productivity would have fallen through the floor. Some of her thoughts must have shown on her face.

"Enjoying the view?" Weiss said perching on the desk next to her. Ruby nodded not quite being able to put it into words. "I suppose it is quite something. Why did you come here anyway?"

"Do I need a reason to want to see you?" she tried her best to sound indignant before relenting. "Actually I did have an ulterior motive, I brought you lunch." She started to fish the containers out of her rucksack and handed them to Weiss to open.

"Did you make this?" Weiss sounded genuinely impressed as she revealed the neatly arranged sushi rolls.

"Yep," Ruby said trying and failing to keep the pride out of her voice.

Since starting to learn how to cook, she'd wanted to try to make sushi. Though the recipes she'd picked were the easier ones, it had been a fair amount of work and had eaten up a good chunk of her morning. But, by the end the ones she'd packed looked almost exactly like the pictures. Almost. She was sure the images were edited on the computer, no one could be that precise, but now all there was to do was hope they tasted as good as they looked.

"Wow," Weiss leant down to sniff them. "They smell great. I can't imagine how much trouble you went through, but I've got a meeting soon."

Ruby felt her heart fall as she watched Weiss navigate onto her calendar. After everything she'd done this morning, and despite it being her birthday others were continuing to monopolise Weiss' time.

She tried to make sense of the schedule to work out just who Weiss was having a meeting with and find a target for her ire, but to her surprise she read her own name. A big two hour block was labelled  _Lunch with Ruby._

It obviously hadn't been what Weiss was expecting either. She frowned at the screen as though she thought her eyesight was playing tricks on her, before leaning over and buzzing the intercom.

Starling appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, the picture of efficiency. "Yes Ms Schnee."

"Did you reschedule my meeting?"

"It was more convenient for both parties to hold it later."

"Really," scepticism dripped from her voice.

"Yes Ms Schnee," under Weiss' continued glare, the professional smile on Starling's lips faltered slightly. "Weiss, Ruby came all this way to have lunch with you, would either of you be satisfied if it lasted ten minutes? The meeting is fine later and anyway I don't know how long you were working here after I went home, but I'm sure it was long enough to make up for you having lunch with your friend."

Ruby gave her unexpected ally a conspiratorial smile before doing the one thing that almost always caused Weiss to cave. "Weiss please," she mewled the word while making sure her eyes were as wide as they would go and causing her lower lip to tremble.

Weiss turned to look at her for a fraction of second before realising just what expression was on her girlfriend's face and tearing her eyes away. It didn't work. Even the slightest glimpse was enough to make Weiss put aside her duty to her family business for a couple hours.

"Fine," Weiss said exasperatedly while reaching for her jacket.

"Thank you," Ruby's words were sweet enough to cause diabetes as she repacked their lunch. She'd come here expecting pretty much what had almost happened, a rushed lunch before Weiss was stolen from her, but Starling had given her a precious gift.

Trailing Weiss on the way out of the office Starling pulled her to one side. "Make sure she doesn't do any work, she deserves a break."

Ruby smiled broadly. "I will." She had several things on her mind for Weiss to do to make the best of their time together and work was certainly not one of them.

 

* * *

 

The soft classical music that was providing the ambience of the restaurant in the middle of Atlas' most expensive district was drowned out by a thunderous belch.

"Ruby!" Weiss cried sharply.

Ruby let her utensils clatter to her now empty plate and placed a hand on her thoroughly stuffed stomach. "Sorry, it just slipped out." Her apology seemed to mollify Weiss somewhat, though secretly she was pretty proud of the volume of her burp and had to work to keep the grin off her face.

"Yeah sis, where are your manners? This is not an establishment where you should be displaying that kind of uncouth behaviour." Yang's voice was stern, the exact one she'd used to reprimand her sister as a child.

"Sorry," Ruby repeated looking down at her lap. Yang was right. This had to be one of the most exclusive restaurants in Atlas and Weiss had booked the entire top floor for her birthday meal. All four members of team RWBY were wearing some of their best clothes and in the dress Weiss had picked out for her even Ruby didn't feel completely out of place.

"Thank you Yang. It's good to know one of you two knows how to behave." Weiss said, in between small bites.

The food here was incredible, she hadn't recognised about half the things on the menu, and in the end Weiss had chosen for her. It was a good thing she had; Ruby knew never she would have even considered the dishes herself.

The most recent that was currently trying to find room in her overloaded stomach had consisted of mushrooms from Mistral, steamed to the texture of silk, served with jet black truffles in malt and mustard sauce. It had only taken one tentative bite for her to decide to ravage the plate with indelicate gusto.

By the speed they ate, Yang and Blake had also been suitably impressed with the food on offer. Only Weiss had made any effort to maintain decorum. Sitting with her back ramrod straight, eating slowly and making small talk with skill that spoke of long practice, Weiss looked every inch a noble of Atlas.

A second much louder and much longer burp shattered the peace of the restaurant once more. At the scandalised look on Weiss' face and the pleasure on Yang's, Ruby couldn't help but giggle. If her belch had been thunderous, her sister's had been cataclysmic.

Weiss stared daggers at the pair of them, before turning to Blake only to find her stifling a smile behind her hand. "I can't believe you three."

"Come on Weiss, you know you want to let one loose." Yang said causing all three to burst into laughter as Weiss' face grew pink.

"I most certainly do not." Her response only drew more laughter and she shook her head, muttering dark things under her breath.

As ever it was, Blake, who tried to defuse the situation before it ignited, pulled a small neatly wrapped package from her coat draped over her chair, and slid it across the table towards Ruby.

"Happy birthday," Blake said with a twinkle behind her eyes.

Ruby felt her excitement ramp up as she picked up the cuboid and weighed it in her hand. Where receiving any gift she always tried to guess just what it was, though judging by the size, shape, and who it was from it wasn't particularly difficult.

With a complete lack of finesse she ripped the glossy blue paper apart and revealed, unsurprisingly, a book. "Thank you," Ruby said automatically turning it over in her hands.

It was remarkably different to any other book that had ever been on her bookshelf. It was actually leather bound and it showed its age, small cracks worming their way down from the edges. Carefully flicking through the pages she saw that the text did not follow a uniform style, most were printed, but some had been handwritten.

"It's a first edition anthology of fairy tales and stories from all over the world. It even has some from cultures that don't exist anymore. The first day we met you told me you loved listening to Yang read you stories about heroes, I hope in there you'll find a few you've never read before."

If there wasn't a table in between them Ruby would have hugged her. As should be expected Blake had put so much thought into her gift. Listening to stories of heroes was one of the main reasons she had decided to follow in her parent's footsteps. Reading wasn't as preferable for her as being read to, but the book would give her something else to pass the time.

"Thank you Blake, it's amazing." Ruby said this time more sincerely.

"My turn," Yang deposited a slightly larger and more messily wrapped box on the table that had been cleared by the ever efficient staff while Ruby had been looking over Blake's present.

Ruby turned it over in her hands; it was light and rattled slightly. The package had intrigued her since she'd first seen Yang carrying it out of her room. Any guess as to what it was escaped her and she tore into it.

Her mood had been so good since her extended lunch with Weiss in the park. It had only gotten better as she spent the afternoon with Blake and Yang after they returned from wherever they had been. Suddenly that mood dissipated.

It shouldn't have. A year ago it would have been the perfect present. Six months ago she'd been looking wistfully through the shop window at it, working out just how she could manage to save enough to buy it, but that was in another age.

One where she'd been a huntress. Yang had brought her a customisable thermal scope for Crescent Rose. Her beloved weapon that she'd barely touched in the last week, only oiling it and performing other general maintenance. She hadn't tinkered with it. She still didn't see the point. Despite the progress she'd been making in getting her life back on track, she was still no closer to finding an answer to just what she wanted to do with it. Crescent Rose was just a reminder of the hard choice that she would have to be made.

Some of her internal turmoil must have shown on her face for Yang spoke in a now more reserved voice. "If you don't like it you can return it, I still have the receipt."

Ruby forced a smile onto her face. "No Yang it's fantastic. It's just it's so expensive," she lied.

Pride re-entered Yang's tone. "Don't worry about that, I've been saving ever since I saw you looking at it. It's my sister's sixteenth birthday, you deserved something big."

"Thank you." Ruby said feeling her cheeks start to strain as she maintained her toothy grin. It was a great present. It wasn't Yang's fault she didn't know the things that had only been voiced in Celeste's office.

With Yang's present dealt with, Blake and Yang turned towards Weiss. Ruby met her eyes and saw a slight hint of embarrassment there,  _had she forgotten?_

Ruby was just about to try and divert everyone's attention, when Weiss pulled a small and surprisingly poorly wrapped present from her purse. Taking it from her Ruby noticed it was barely bigger than her palm. It didn't weigh much, and if not for its shallow depth she would have guessed it was a jewellery box.

It took her longer to get into than the others, Weiss had completely covered the areas where the paper overlapped with tape, but eventually she managed it. When the paper fell away it revealed a small embossed white notebook emblazoned with the Schnee crest. The first page contained Weiss' neat flowing handwriting.

_The intended recipient of this book may redeem the coupons within at any time that is convenient for both parties._

It was signed in the same flowing script. The second page simply contained:  _One home cooked dinner_ , the next few pages were similar:  _One back massage, A movie night of your choice,_ and so on. It was so cute and so unexpected. She'd anticipated Weiss' present being ridiculously expensive, a jewel mined out of the heart of one Mistral's volcanoes or something similar, something most people would love to receive.

But living the life of luxury had made her blasé towards it. Even if Weiss had chosen to spend a million liens on the present, it wouldn't have really made a dent in her bank account. To someone like Weiss, money just wasn't worth a lot.

Her time was though. Weiss had chosen to hand write every page, and each coupon represented more of her time she was prepared to gift. To make it even better, they were all activities they could do together. Ruby understood that there would still likely be interruptions, Weiss might have to depart rapidly to deal with a new crisis, but it was the thought that counts. It was the best present she could have hoped for.

Yang made over exaggerated gagging noises from over her shoulder. "Wow Weiss that's so cheesy."

Weiss' voice rose in pitch indignantly as she sought to defend herself. "You told me not to buy anything."

"Yeah but, really, an IOU book, have you been watching bad romances recently?" Yang laughed, but Ruby knew she wasn't actually being mean. It was just her fulfilling her role as the big sister of the group.

Weiss had turned almost completely pink with embarrassment and Ruby decided to save her from the teasing. "Weiss I love it. It's absolutely perfect."

"You do?" As was often the case in matters of romance, Weiss' usual confidence was missing.

"Yes I do. Any intelligent person would be able to see that." Ruby sent an insult right back.

"She has a point Yang, it's very sweet." Blake said in her usual dry tone.

"Hey," Yang glared at the person who was meant to be her ally, but any further retort was interrupted as the deserts arrived.

Upon finishing her last course Ruby knew with certainty that not another morsel of food would have been able to fit in her body, but as soon as the aroma of the citrus tutti-frutti topping the lemon posset reached her nose, she found a way.

The good natured banter continued as they ate and it was only when they had moved onto coffee that Ruby noticed Blake and Yang exchange incredibly poignant glances.

"So uhh… we've got some things we need to tell you both," Yang said sounding apprehensive and watching Ruby with worried eyes. "We were summoned by Ozpin today and… look there's no easy way to say this, we're being deployed."

The positive outlook Ruby had been trying her best to foster over the last few weeks plunged into the darkness she'd climbed out from. One of the things that had driven her to the depths of despair was coming true.

"Deployed where?" Weiss asked.

"Vale. We're being sent to infiltrate it."

"When?"

"We leave tomorrow." Blake supplied.

"No." All eyes at the table turned towards Ruby but she didn't care. "No," she said again more forcibly. "I won't allow it." She couldn't allow them to be pulled apart again, not when they'd just managed to reconnect as a team.

"Rubes…" Yang tried to console her. "We don't have a choice. We're part of Vale's military whether we like it or not."

"No, Weiss can get you out of it, she's not in the military." In her fear she didn't see the weight her words put on Weiss' shoulders.

"Ruby," Weiss paused thinking of the best way of explaining how useless she was. "Ozpin never had any legal precedent to conscript me, I'm immune because of my family. That protection doesn't extend to Yang or Blake, I've checked, I've had a team of lawyers check, Ozpin had every right to draft them."

"You must be able to do something." Her tone carried a fang of disappointment that bit deep.

"Ruby I can't," Weiss looked away not capable of meeting the look of betrayal in Ruby's eyes.

"It's not her fault. It's just something that happened." Yang said. "We just have to deal with it. We didn't want to ruin your birthday, which is why we've waited, but we had to tell you at some point."

"Fine I'm going with you." Ruby knew that returning to Vale would only give her more fuel for her nightmares, but she couldn't let her sister and her friend go into danger without her. She would never be able to forgive herself if something happened to them and she wasn't there to stop it.

"No you're not." Yang said emphatically. "I am not letting you. You can't anyway, you're not part of the military. I know why you want to come but you're safe here."

"That just means you won't be."

Yang shook her head dejectedly. "Look I'm not going to lie to you. Of course it's going to be dangerous, but Coco and Velvet are coming with us. We shouldn't have to fight, we're just there to gather information. It shouldn't be that bad."

Even in her close to distraught state Ruby manage to pick up on the lack of confidence hidden just beneath the surface of Yang's voice. "That's fine then, everything going to be ok. There's no need for me to worry." The sarcasm was palpable in the air.

"Ruby!" Yang said anger showing in her tone, if not in her now permanently red eyes. "It's not like we want to do this. Do you think either of us wants to go back to Vale? But someone has to. Someone has to try and help all the people still trapped there. And that someone is us."

Ruby sat there nearly shaking with rage, resentment, and terror. The terror that her sister was going to her death. She had to fix it, but she didn't know how and no one else could offer up a solution either. Enough time passed that the pregnant silence was uncomfortable with portents it contained.

"Do you want something else to eat?" Weiss said finally breaking it and laying a hand on Ruby's knee comfortingly.

She shook the hand off and stared at Weiss incredulously. "Of course I don't. None of this matters in the slightest. It's pointless." Ruby looked away sharply and consequently only heard Weiss' chair scrape on the floor.

A very controlled voice filled the air. "I need to use the restroom." Weiss said promptly walking off, the clicking of her heels loud in the quiet room.

Ruby didn't turn to see her leave, couldn't Weiss understand that food was the last thing on her mind? She was meant to be the smart one, Yang and Blake were her friends too, didn't she care they were going back to that hell?

The temperature at the table jumped noticeably and Ruby's attention was drawn almost magnetically to Yang. Her sister was glaring at her with her brow furrowed and small motes of light were spawning and being snuffed out in her hair. Yang's body quivered and so did her voice as she spoke deliberately in a deadly calm manner.

"At the moment, I'm ashamed to call you my sister."

The statement was like a bucket of ice water dumped over Ruby, it chilled her to her core. Yang had never spoken those words before and even Blake looked shocked. "What?" she said quietly.

"You have no right to take this out on Weiss. Be angry at me if you have to, but not her. Do you know just how hard Weiss worked to plan everything today? Especially when she'd already so busy? So it didn't work out. These things happen. It wasn't her fault, and neither is our deployment."

"I didn't mean ̶ ̶ "

Yang didn't relent. "Do you know why Weiss wanted to make today special? She wanted to make this a day to remember especially because she's never gotten to do this before. Schnees don't believe in celebrating birthdays. That was her father's position on the matter. If I'd known I would have made a bigger thing about my own.

"She wanted today to be perfect for you, because that's what a normal person would do for their girlfriend. She had to ask me about all the smallest things, to check whether people actually did them. Do you think that was easy for her, admitting that she knows nothing about such a simple subject? You know how proud she is, but she put herself through it because she loves you. And you just said it was all pointless."

As Yang had continued to speak Ruby felt guilt clawing at her stomach. It hadn't been meant like that, she'd just hit out in her turmoil, and Weiss was the unfortunate recipient. She honestly hadn't known why Weiss was making such a big thing of her birthday, but she did know how much effort Weiss had put into it, and she'd belittled that effort. If anyone on the planet was feeling more despicable than her at this moment she'd call them a liar.

"I didn't mean… I didn't know… What do I do?" she turned to her sister in her distress.

"Go and find her. You know that she closes herself off from people, don't let it happen."

That thought sent her heart thundering but she knew it was true. One moment of stupidity and she could have lost Weiss forever. "What do I say?"

"Sorry would be a start and you better pray that she forgives you." Yang said. "What are you waiting for, go."

Ruby jumped up her entire body rife with panic and horror at the thought of what she'd done. Weiss had to forgive her, she couldn't imagine her life without Weiss in it, she didn't want to. Weiss was the sun that lit up her existence, without her the world would be forever shrouded in eternal darkness. She had to fix it, she dashed off in the direction Weiss had departed.

"She went upstairs," Blake called after her.

Her feet carried her up them three at a time, they had eaten on the top floor of the restaurant and Ruby wasn't surprised when the pushing open the door revealed the roof. The weather was cold but clear, the moon shining down. The city lights obscured many of the stars but some constellations were still visible, The Hunter, The Dragon, The Lovers, The Grimm. A fitting selection.

Ruby's hammering heart skipped a beat when her first glance round didn't reveal Weiss. Her mind jumping to the conclusion that Blake must have been mistaken and she'd missed her, missed her chance to apologise and beg. But then her ears picked up a soft hummed tune flitting through the crisp air. The sorrow the voiceless melody contained caused her throat to catch, if she had reason to doubt just how much a careless phrase could hurt someone it was disproved at that moment.

She stepped to the side of the door that rose in the middle of the roof and looked behind it. Weiss was there, her hair glowing bright white in the lunar illumination she was leant over the railing staring into the city.

Her humming tore Ruby's wound further open with every step. In most ways Weiss was the loneliest person she'd ever met. Until recently she hadn't had friends. She hadn't had a sister who was her best friend, or a father who loved her. Weiss was not someone who trusted at all easily and she had abused that trust. Just as Yang had predicted by humming that song she was preparing to close herself off from the pain.

"Weiss I'm sorry." Ruby hurried over the last few steps unable to bear the despondency any longer. The word was so inadequate but it was the best she had.

So consumed was Weiss by her song of sorrow that she hadn't noticed her approach and jumped at her apology. But she didn't look round.

"Weiss… I'm sorry, I'm an idiot, I'm a moron. I didn't mean it. I was just worried about Yang and Blake. Please don't shut me out." If she felt it would have done any good she'd have thrown herself to her knees to beg.

After what seemed like an age Weiss turned to face her. Weiss hadn't been crying. She'd once told Ruby that her father disapproved of the act, but it had obviously been close. Her beautiful face had been consumed by misery.

"You were right. It was pointless in the larger scheme of things."

"No I wasn't, it was perfect. Even if we didn't get to do everything you'd planned, I've been happier today than I've been in weeks all because of you. I shouldn't have said those things. You've been so kind to me, you've sacrificed so much to help me, and I hurt you, and I'm sorry. But Weiss I need you, I can't imagine what my life would be like without you in it. I love you. I'll do anything to make it up to you, anything." Her voice had broken by the end of her plea, but it was true. For Weiss she'd do anything.

Thanks to their respective choices of footwear they were about level in height and Weiss just looked at her, breathing in and out. The wait was excruciating but she didn't know what else she could do, she'd bared her heart and soul and if Weiss wanted to she could crush them. It would be no more than she deserved.

"Ruby you don't have to do anything. You hurt me, but I couldn't imagine my life without you either. We're going to have some rough patches. It happens to everyone. We've just got to make sure we get through them."

"So… you don't hate me?" Ruby asked in a small voice.

Weiss smiled. "No I don't. I'm not sure I ever could, not really. Come on we can talk more back at the apartment, the others will be wondering where we've got to, and I suppose I should pay."

"No." They couldn't end the night on such a downbeat note, with their first fight, even if they'd gone someway to repair the damage.

"No?" Weiss questioned.

"No," Ruby reaffirmed as she dug in her pocket for a small white notebook and flicked through it before tearing out a page and thrusting it towards Weiss.

She read it. "Really? Now? Do you even know how?"

"Yes… mostly. I've been having lessons."

"But there's no music."

"You can hum."

Weiss huffed. "I suppose it would be rude to reject your coupon, do you want to lead or shall I?"

"Uhh… you can." Ruby said suddenly feeling a lot less confident than she had when the idea had occurred to her. It was true she'd had dance lessons, two of them to be precise, and it was a fair bit harder than she'd thought it would be. But if she was going to go through with attending the noble's balls it was necessary to learn.

Weiss grasped her hand and pulled her to the middle of the open space, before lifting their entwined hands to the side and putting the other on Ruby's back. As lavender perfume wafted over her, Ruby was ever so conscious of just how close she was to Weiss, in the bitterness of the air she could feel the heat radiating from her.

It was so different from when she stood across from her eccentric and older dancing master. He didn't elicit the nerves she was feeling, despite how he'd cuff her over the head whenever she made a misstep. Her palms had started to sweat and everything she'd learned fled from her mind.

Weiss released her right hand for a moment, leaving it hovering, so she could place Ruby's left in the correct place on her upper arm before taking Ruby's other up once more.

A simple tune started to fill the air and Ruby was thankful she knew it, even as she was startled by the beauty Weiss managed to bring to a few notes. She waited until the point she remembered before taking her first step, miraculously she'd got it right and they moved off together.

The next few steps were somewhat stilted but then she forgot to reverse and ended up stepping on Weiss' toes. Weiss' hum cut off for a moment but then picked up once more as they went back the way they had come. Ruby stared downwards, she could do this bit, it was the bits between that were difficult. Her own feet looked so clumsy next to Weiss' nimble ones which barely seemed to touch the ground.

It was only due to her quick reactions that she managed to avoid stepping on Weiss again at the next reversal but it threw the pair of them off balance.

"Ruby, breathe, it's just a dance. Look at me, not at your shoes. Look into my eyes and relax."

She did as instructed and saw the azure portals twinkling. They went back, step and step and step and turn and step and turn and turn and step. This time she felt a slight tug on her arm just before the reversal and she took the cue, spinning back the way she come.

Focussing on Weiss, something clicked. Her feet acted of her their own accord. Somehow her body managed to take the lead off of Weiss' without any conscious need for thought. She was actually dancing well, the next time they reversed it, Weiss threw her out in a spin before bringing her back in close. They both giggled, their mouths inches from one another.

On the roof of an exclusive restaurant in the middle of Atlas, under the star laden canopy of the sky, two figures stepped and twirled in the moonlight, moving almost as if they were one.

 


	12. Chapter 12

"Any movement?" Velvet whispered as she crawled her way into the brush covering Blake's observation post. They were situated on a hill overlooking their destination, Mountain Glenn.

"No and there should be. The Grimm stayed in the ruins for decades. So why aren't they there now?"

Blake passed the monocular over and Velvet surveyed the failed city. When team RWBY had been deployed here before, they'd been dropped right in the middle of it. After they'd spent the days clearing out the residents Blake had been too tired to actually look at it.

In the past four hours there'd been little else for her to do. In the White Fang she'd spent her fair share of time in abandoned buildings they didn't normally creep her out, but there was a far cry between an old warehouse and an entire city lying deserted. The unnatural tranquillity sent shivers down her spine. It should have been bustling with life, but instead it was inhabited only by ghosts.

"Where do you think we should go in?" Velvet's voice was barely louder than a falling feather, but it was more than loud enough for Blake to hear. Her ears were out of her bow and were twitching as they searched for threats.

"Towards the north, at about eleven o clock. The wall's partially collapsed." Velvet turned the monocular on it.

"Yeah it looks like it shouldn't be too difficult to climb. Anyway I came here to tell you Yang's heated up some MREs. Go and get something to eat. I'll take over here."

Blake nodded and began to back out, being careful not to move any of the branches placed overhead. A meal sounded good, even if it would taste like lightly flavoured clay, and there was another pressing concern she'd have to take cared of first.

They'd been dropped thirty miles from Mountain Glenn, they could have gone closer, but Coco hadn't wanted to risk the Bullhead getting picked up on Vale's radar. She was the de facto leader of their mission; it wasn't hard to see why, she oozed authority and good sense.

The jog through the forests had been gruelling. Despite Blake's sessions in the gym, she'd let herself slip in the comfort of Atlas. There was a big difference between running ten miles on a treadmill and jogging through thick forest with a thirty kilo rucksack on her back. Her entire body had been aching after an hour and it had only gotten worse. It was especially bad where she'd suffered the puncture wound on her thigh, though she'd believed she'd done enough work on that area to completely recover from any damage that notion was being roughly disabused.

It was scant consolation that the others were suffering similarly. It had been irresponsible to let her body putrefy to such a state. They'd all pushed through the burning pain, using the reserves of energy that were buried deep inside each of them to stay on schedule.

It had been fortunate that they hadn't run into any Grimm or White Fang patrols, but it hadn't been all luck. They had deliberately chosen to approach along a path far away from any vestiges of civilization and unless they were mating the Grimm usually stayed nearer their food.

When they'd reached this hilltop within sight of Mountain Glenn she'd finally been able to shrug off the backpack that had been biting into her shoulders. But, her work had by no means been over. Despite Coco's and Velvet's seniority Blake knew that she had more experience doing things like this. Subterfuge and infiltrations were the staple mission parameters for the White Fang elite.

So it had been she who'd set up the OP and taken the first watch. All that meant that certain other bodily requirements had been ignored. It was with great satisfaction that she relieved herself behind some trees, before filling the hole back in with soil to mask the scent.

With her bladder no longer complaining with every step Blake headed back to the small clearing where they'd established their camp. Yang and Coco were talking quietly while eating but despite her knowing who to expect it still took her a fraction longer than it should have to recognise them from the rear.

Yang's long flowing hair was auburn. Even after a day it just looked so wrong and Blake knew it would take much longer than that to get used to it. To try and get round the fact that her face had been plastered all over the city when she'd fought in the tournament she'd decided to dye her hair, they almost all had.

Her own hand subconsciously lifted her own midnight blue locks into view. The colour wasn't actually too bad. In fact the way it shimmered in the light transitioning from black to blue looked great. She chosen the colour for two reasons, first she hadn't wanted anything that would stand out in the shadows. Second, and more importantly it was close enough to the colour of the fur on her ears that it almost looked natural.

Coco had forgone natural and dyed her hair sanguine red, her reasoning being that people would be drawn to the colour not her face. Of course she managed to pull the look off, but then Coco would probably find a way to make a sack appear to be the height of fashion.

Only Velvet hadn't changed her appearance significantly. Her fur was too prominent to make her natural hair colour as anything other than brown. It wasn't a big problem though; Velvet was the least recognisable out of the four of them. She hadn't fought in the tournament, and her quiet nature had meant that even most of the people at Beacon only knew her as the other member of CFVY. Especially in a city filled with Faunus, Velvet would probably be least conspicuous of their group.

Blake had almost enjoyed the experience of choosing and then dyeing her hair, but the same could not be said for her partner. It would have taken someone who really knew her to see how hesitant and reluctant Yang was, but Blake had seen it.

It wasn't just her normal protectiveness over her hair, there was something else, but when she'd asked Yang hadn't been forthcoming. They'd gone to one of the most expensive salons in Atlas and Blake felt almost as if she were an accomplice to a crime as the brilliant gold was covered up, even if all she was doing was sitting there having her own hair done. The initial heartbeat of Yang's reaction to herself in the mirror had been sadness, before she'd smiled and thanked her stylist. There was definitely something else beneath the surface Blake hoped would come out in time.

Coco and Yang jumped significantly when she appeared right next to them in the periphery of their collective vision.

"Blake," Coco exclaimed one hand on her chest, the other on her weapon. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"She always does this. I swear she was a ninja in a past life." Yang scowled.

Blake paused as she was getting her meal. She hadn't made any effort to move stealthily. In fact she knew she would have been able to hear her footsteps from across the clearing, but the other two didn't have her natural advantages. "Sorry."

"Well I know who I'm sending if we have to sneak into anywhere," Coco said. "You should probably try surprising Velvet sometime, I know I never can. Anyway any movement?"

Blake shook her head, her mouth full of chicken flavoured mud. Even with an empty stomach MREs were barely palatable; she'd have thought someone would have worked out how to make the self-heating pouches actually taste like food.

Yang must have noticed her grimace. "Yeah they're pretty bad aren't they? But we've been spoilt eating in a five star hotel for the past few weeks."

Blake nodded taking another bite. It was true they had been spoilt, in the past month she'd eaten some of the best tasting food of her life ̶ ̶ probably part of the reason the trek in had been so hard ̶ ̶ but even if she hadn't been staying at Weiss' expense they still would have been revolting.

"Well we shouldn't need them for too much longer, there must be some fresh food in Vale." Coco put down her own empty pouch and swirled water round her mouth to try and get rid of the taste.

She looked pensive for a moment before resolution settled on her face. "Right if it looks quiet we'll move in half an hour. I want to get into the tunnels before it gets dark. You agree?"

Blake inclined her head. Despite her trepidation there was no point hanging around and she certainly didn't want to have to move through Mountain Glenn at night. Although providing it wasn't completely overcast it wouldn't be much of a problem for her or Velvet, halving the efficiency of their team wasn't something she particularly wanted to do.

"Right I'll go tell Velvet. Finish eating and get ready."

* * *

 

Blake hauled herself over the lip of the ruined wall. It only took a flick of her wrist to bring Gambol Shroud from where it had been anchoring her assent into her hand. Her ears flicked as she scanned around, listening out for the slightest scratch of a claw on concrete. All she could hear were the grunts as the rest of the team climbing behind her.

Satisfied that the immediate area was secure, she knelt down and used a pneumatic gun to drive a steel spike into the top of the wall. To the loop atop the spike she clipped a lightweight carbon reinforced rope, then dropped the rest of it down to where Coco was waiting.

Though there were enough handholds between the large bricks of the wall that they probably could have made the climb unassisted, with their balance ruined by the backpacks it wasn't worth the risk. They'd divided hers up between the other three to allow her to use Gambol Shroud to go ahead and set up the ropes for the rest of them.

As soon as Coco reached the top she shrugged out of her backpack, deployed Reine de Beauté, and moved into a defensive position behind a pile of rubble. They'd all been on edge since the start of the mission but now on the outskirts of the deserted city it was a lot worse. If they weren't careful a single Grimm could ruin the mission if a fight alerted the White Fang. Though the Bullhead was standing by for an emergency extraction there was no guarantee that they'd manage to survive long enough for it to arrive.

When the other two had completed the climb, they coiled up the last rope and refilled Blake's rucksack. They couldn't do anything about the anchors but the less they left here, the less chance there was of their discovery. Not knowing just what they'd be able to acquire in Vale they'd each had to bring enough to keep themselves operational for a significant amount of time.

All of them apart from Velvet had brought ammo, though Coco had brought enough the rest of them had to share the burden. Her issue was not only the rate of fire of her weapon but the relative rarity of the rounds. Being designed for Atlesian military vehicles they would likely be heavily guarded at the very least.

It wasn't a problem Blake had; she'd deliberately chosen a common calibre for Gambol Shroud. In the White Fang she hadn't had the luxury of being able to purchase ammo in most places instead she had to make do with what she could steal.

As well as ammo, there were significant quantities of Dust and explosives. They all understood just how they might have to disrupt the White Fang operations and again because of the uncertainty of how to source what they might need it was another burden they had to carry. They'd decided to leave their munitions in the tunnel to begin with before moving them to a safer location later on.

With her back complaining from the weight of the rucksack again Blake took point and led the group towards the entrance into the White Fang hideout. Yang and Velvet spread out on either side and Coco brought up the rear. All four of them were straining for the slightest sign they weren't alone and they communicated silently through basic hand gestures.

With the dilapidated buildings looming all around it was just as eerie as she remembered, though it was made worse by the silence and anticipation. At least the last time she'd walked these streets they knew where their enemies were.

Her boots left imprints in the dust and as it had the last time she'd been here, her mind was left wondering just what had happened. Everyone knew the city had fallen, but the specifics of what happened were noticeably sparse.

The bullet holes in the buildings all around spoke of a long protracted battle against the Grimm, but surely that wouldn't have resulted in the half dozen or so tower blocks reduced to rubble that she could see from her position on the street. Something had happened here. Something that had been covered up. At least that was what her instincts told her.

Blake thought she caught a flicker of movement and brought her gun up. Coco immediately snapped her weapon towards the same direction but eventually Blake was forced to admit it had been a figment of her imagination and signaled  _negative._

When they started off she was forced to screw up her face with embarrassment and annoyance at herself. This should be easy for her, she'd done things like this countless times, and yet she was jumping at shadows like a child. Deep down she knew the reason she was so apprehensive was because of just what their destination was.

Out of all of them, it was by far the most dangerous for her. People would be able to recognise her no matter what she did with her hair, and if she encountered Adam again she was not longer sure he wouldn't kill her. The entire premise of the mission terrified her and she'd barely managed to sleep a wink last night.

But she had a job to do. Using knowledge gleaned on the previous visit and the maps she'd memorised on the flight they reached the building that led down to the caves without further incident.

She was coming to believe that the city really was deserted or at least this sector of it. Despite how quiet they'd been it was improbable that they hadn't run into anyone if they were here. But even a deserted White Fang hideout was not safe and she signalled the others to stay back as she approached the door.

It was standard procedure ̶ ̶ or at least it had been eighteen months ago ̶ ̶ to booby-trap any entrances to their hideouts. In the event of a raid by authority you wanted them to have to slow down to check every door. When they'd been searching for Ruby they'd been lucky enough to spot a White Fang member going in and he hadn't had the chance to rearm whatever might have been set up before they reached him. Now though that may not be the case.

The lock only took her thirty seconds to pick and she opened it by a couple of millimetres. By far the favourite trap used to be a wire strung between two grenades. It was cheap, loud, and simple. And it proved to be a favourite again as Blake felt the tell-tale resistance as the door snagged on something.

Given the state of the ground throughout the city, it would be all too easy to assume that it had caught on a rock or piece of rubble and push harder to disastrous consequences. Pouring everything she had into her Aura Blake opened the door further, gritting her teeth as the resistance increased. When sunlight had just begun to leak through the slightest gap Blake reached through with the wire cutters that were part of her infiltration kit and very carefully snipped through the taut line.

When it fell in limply to the ground she sighed with relief but didn't release the hold on her Aura despite the internal pressure of straining herself so much causing her eardrums to flare with pain. Millimetre by millimetre she edged the door open, just waiting for another obstruction, but none came and when it was wide enough she slipped inside.

The interior was almost pitch-black the light coming through the door only extending a few feet. It was dark enough that even she had trouble piercing more than a few feet down the hall. She remained crouching, listening intently for anyone noise, but like the rest of the city all she could hear was the sound of the wind and her own body. After making sure the grenade trap was fully disarmed and there were no others she stepped back outside and gestured the others over.

They continued on in silence. If the city outside had been creepy the interior of the White Fang hideout caused her to shudder. Most of Mountain Glenn looked entirely deserted but the White Fang had been forced to leave in a hurry. Their flashlights illuminated bed rolls, cooking equipment, food, and the personal items of those who had been stationed here, things they wouldn't have left behind if they had a choice.

It was so familiar to Blake she was experiencing a frightening case of déjà vu. The rooms stirred up memories of evenings spent just waiting for something to happen. If for different circumstances she could have been one of those who had been forced to abandon their few precious mementoes here when they'd come under attack.

It was her intuition that was guiding her, though this was the building they'd gone through to rescue Ruby, they'd used the entrance on the other side. That side of the building had partially collapsed and was probably structurally unsound. Oobleck's solution to the White Fang lookout trying to slam the door in his face had been to simply blow the wall down.

The quantity of dust on the floor and walls gradually increasing told her they were heading in the right direction. Before too long they were in corridors she hazily remembered and had come to the set of stairs that led down.

As they descended the air became sickeningly stagnant. The caverns beneath the city that had originally been repurposed to act as a hub for the trains now smelled like the tomb they had become. When the White Fang had been here they'd kept the huge ventilation fans turning but in their absence they'd ground to a halt.

Blake couldn't imagine just how horrific the scenario must have been to those who had been trapped down here as Mountain Glenn fell. To know that there was no way out and as the ventilation failed the smell of so many people must have been rancid. To hear the Grimm gradually digging closer and to know there was nothing you could do to save those you loved. It was a fate she wouldn't wish on anyone.

Without any artificial lighting her surroundings were shrouded by absolute darkness that even her heritage couldn't penetrate. The four cones of light were simply ineffective in such a massive space. They managed to illuminate the buildings either side of them but not much more. They were forced to turn up the brightness to compensate but luckily, like the city above, it seemed deserted.

Well almost deserted. She had to resist the urge to gag as she turned a corner and almost stepped on an arm which had the last vestiges of tissue clinging to the bones. Both Coco and Yang turned pale at the sight but Velvet retched, some of what she'd eaten in the past few hours splattering the floor.

In all honesty Blake felt like joining her. To the pair of them the smell of decomposition was particularly acute, but she didn't, not when it might hold some clues. Ignoring the looks that the others were giving her and holding her nose she crouched down and examined it.

It had been close to three months since the last time they'd been here, it was long enough that in normal circumstances the flesh should have liquefied but the still air proved a good environment for preservation.

Looking close there were deep rough gouges in the bone as if it had been gnawed upon, and she had to admit it probably had. It also provided an answer to the conspicuous absence of the rest of the body. It was likely a smaller Beowolf had ripped the arm off of a kill and taken it to this secluded corner to enjoy it without having to fight.

They'd rushed past the majority of the White Fang in an attempt to board the train. Though the majority of the Grimm the bombs had lured into the tunnel had headed towards Vale some had come this way and in the panic it seemed as though anyone who couldn't move on their own had been left behind. It was hard to feel sympathy for the White Fang after everything they'd done but she hoped whoever the arm belonged to had been dead or unconscious as the Grimm reached them.

Blake surmised what she'd learned in whispers before they set off following the tracks. In the tunnels they encountered more mauled corpses. A glance at Yang showed her looking at them with a grimace on her face.

These were likely the ones they were responsible for. Though in the fight on the train Ruby had pulled her punches so to speak ̶ ̶ only using the back of Crescent Rose ̶ ̶ the rest of them hadn't. With the White Fang members trying to kill her, Blake had used every dirty tactic in her arsenal to win. Not that it mattered when knocking someone off a speeding train was no less lethal than cutting their throat.

The numbers of bodies they found was shocking. The entire fight on the train was largely a blur in her memory. She hadn't recalled this many opponents but the evidence was only too plain. The few minutes of the fight had been exceedingly one sided and bloody. She was just glad Yang wouldn't be able to see most of them.

Apart from having to avoid stepping on corpses and dealing with the putrid stench of rotting flesh and excrement from the Grimm who had feasted here, it was easy going up until the tunnel ahead brightened.

At first Blake thought she was imagining it, after so long in the darkness the dim yellow glow in the distance looked almost unreal. As they neared Blake came to recognise the wreckage of the first train car. The rubble coated metal was illuminated in the evening sunlight filtering in through the hole in the roof of the tunnel.

Blake slowed down as they approached. Passing the breaches would be the most dangerous part of the tunnels. Not only was the structure likely unstable and just their passing could cause more of it to come down, but they also risked being discovered by any Grimm that was wandering nearby.

If the natural light was pleasant after so long spent in the darkness, the fresh breeze that blew against their faces was heavenly. She breathed in deeply, the scent of the forest and earth caressing her nose, and from the looks of everyone else, they were savouring it just as much.

They started part climbing, part scampering over the mass of rubble and dirt. It was loose and Blake's heart jumped into her throat when the rock Yang's weight was resting on slipped from under her and pulled off balance by the heavy rucksack she fell backwards, tumbling down the slope with a shower of scree following her.

The clatter of rocks bouncing from one another echoed up and down the tunnel, and even after Yang had rolled to her knees the rubble still shifted. As the cacophony continued all of them stood, or in Yang's case knelt frozen, just willing it to end.

As the last pebble bounced its way down the mound and finally came to a rest they all exchanged worried looks. If nothing had heard racket then they must surely have the favour of some capricious god but at heart Blake was a pessimist. She knew how far the noise would have travelled and that the odds of nothing hearing it were miniscule.

"We need to move," Blake said stretching her voice chords that had been stationary for what felt like hours.

"Sorry," Yang was grimacing as she climbed to her feet.

"It's done. Worrying won't change that, let's go." Coco gestured Blake to lead them off again.

The moment they'd all cleared the other side of the rubble she started jogging, favouring speed over stealth. They'd all packed their rucksacks so nothing jangled as they moved, but to hers ̶ ̶ and any of the Grimms' ears ̶ ̶ their footfalls were loud indeed.

In the darkness of the tunnel it was hard to keep track of their progress. Without reference points or even the sun Blake's awareness shrunk right down to her keeping her breathing steady and watching where she was putting her feet. Running along a floor littered with obstacles would have been difficult enough in daylight, but in the tunnel it was made harder by their flashlights only giving them the minutest of warnings.

After what she guessed was about two miles the tunnel ahead began to brighten again. This time they didn't slow but climbed the rubble as quickly as they were able before continuing on. Only she and Velvet exchanged glances, they'd heard the howl even if the others hadn't.

As they got closer to Vale and passed more breaches the tunnel started to fill with more obstructions. Having been inside for the train for a large part of the fight she hadn't known just how many Paladins it had been carrying. It appeared some had managed to remain operable even after they fell onto the rails. They'd obviously been caught in the wave of the Grimm that had followed in the wake of the train and had put up one last desperate stand.

After successfully navigating another breach Blake skidded to a stop upon hearing a sound over her jogging companions, one which was hardwired into her memory, the clink of keratin on stone. A Beowolf was perched on the loose scree staring at them with scarlet eyes. None of them moved.

They were in the shadows but the intensity of the gaze was unsettling. Despite centuries of research even simple things like what wavelength of light the retina of the Grimm could process were still unknown to them. In her experience their night vision at least matched hers, but she hoped this one was young enough that its eyes were still developing.

Very slowly only moving her hand by millimetres a second she signalled the rest of them and together they began to take tentative steps backwards. The Beowolf didn't move it just kept staring and sniffing at the air.

They'd managed to withdraw twenty paces when very suddenly the situation deteriorated. The energy that had been stored in the huge muscles of the Grimm's hind legs was released in an instant as it leapt forward with a snarl, it's lips turning up to reveal a row of serrated fangs. Yang moved just as quickly, sidestepping its pounce and slamming a fist into its side. But she wasn't quick enough.

Her first blow with just her fist snapped ribs, but the moment she waited for Ember Celica to deploy before shattering the Beowolf's skull gave it enough to unleash an agonized cry of distress. None of them could have taken it out faster, even hunters aren't infallible, and the cry was taken up by its pack mates outside.

There was no need for Coco to give a command. They all started running as fast as they could. Sprinting into the darkness, relying on the inherent sense of balance that thousands of hours of combat had drilled into their muscle memory, they leapt over rocks and crunched bones underfoot, stumbling but never falling.

Blake knew it wouldn't be enough, snarls and howls chased them down the tunnel and the pack itself wasn't far behind. If they kept running the Grimm would catch up to them in the dark, here still within range of the breach there was still just enough light for her to see.

"We can't outrun them." Blake shouted.

She shrugged off her backpack, letting it clatter to the ground before the familiar weight of Gambol Shroud settled into her hand. From this range her low calibre bullets likely wouldn't do any real damage, especially not when she was shooting at silhouettes, but the flashes would ruin their night vision.

In the tunnel the reports from her weapon were much louder than they had any right to be, and though they beat at her eardrums, the moment she opened her eyes she saw the nearest Beowolves had stumbled.

It was the opening that any hunter would dream for. Transforming Gambol Shroud into its blade form she ripped her sheath from her back with her off hand and leapt in. In the blur of outlines she couldn't afford to think too much, instead she acted instinctively. Where she saw, or felt, or heard, or even smelt a Grimm, she cut. Sometimes her blades clattered off an armoured spine or plate, but just as often they bit into flesh and sweet howls of pain were her reward.

Over the din of the battle she heard Coco shout about needing light and heard Yang wading into the melee, flames dripping down her body and casting shadows on the walls. Despite the precariousness of her situation Blake found a smile on her face. After so many weeks of inaction it felt good to be hitting back, these weren't the White Fang, but they were Grimm and deserved extermination just as much.

The battle wasn't one sided though. With writhing bodies all around, all armed with claws and fangs intent on drawing her blood, her Aura was tested and occasionally a mass slamming into her knocked her from her feet. Luckily she managed to roll on her shoulder and rise. To lie on the ground with so many Grimm around would only invite the end.

Light stabbed into her retinas, blinded she dragged her sword out of the Beowolf and cut at another which brushed her shoulder.

"Blake, Yang down!" Coco screamed over the howls and roars.

Blake dropped, there was only one reason why Coco would give that command and soon enough the gates of hell opened. Or at least that was what it sounded like. If her weapon had been loud in the tunnel, Coco's was thunderous.

Her hands released their weapons and clamped down on her ears shielding them from tumultuous noise of scores of large calibre rounds reverberating from the concrete. The effect on the Grimm was not pleasant.

It was only the third time she'd seen Coco fight in anger and the first time that she'd been so close. It was a lot messier. The armour piercing rounds ripped the Beowolves to pieces, showering her with gristle and gore. Hot sticky liquid tried to work its way inside her mouth and she gagged. The Grimm did not taste even remotely close to appetising and she knew; once she'd been desperate enough to try and eat one, but their flesh was impossible to hold down.

It took minutes for the sounds of Coco's weapon to fade, but when it did the carnage she'd unleashed was only too plain and with a start Blake realised she could see. Two orange balls of flame hung in the air near the roof, providing a constant glow of illumination.

Blake picked up her weapons and struggled to her feet, nodding her thanks to Coco and Velvet just beyond. Her breathing was ragged and she once again lamented her laziness back in Atlas. Running was one thing, the stamina that fighting required was completely different, and both of them were missing for her.

Her clothes were ruined but after checking herself thankfully she appeared to be unharmed, and so was Yang. There had been a larger number of Beowolves than she'd thought, not that any were left alive or that confirming the numbers was made any easier by how most were in several chunks.

"Well there goes stealth. We just better hope that the White Fang don't have anyone watching the tunnel." Coco strode closer looking them up and down intently. "Are you two hurt?"

"I'm good," Yang said while Blake shook her head.

"Right let's get mov…" Coco trailed off staring at the breach behind Blake's back.

An adult Deathstalker was skittering over the rubble, its tail scraping along the ceiling, and it was only the first. A King Taijitu slithered in after it hissing maliciously it started towards them. Ursai, Creeps, and more Beowolves followed. As usual the Grimm were putting aside their normal tendencies to fight in presence of their food.

Blake stomach dropped into her legs, the tide of Grimm was more than enough to overwhelm them. She'd fancy herself against any of the Grimm especially with Yang at her back, but not all of them at once. This mission had been cursed from the very start, if a Nevermore had somehow squeezed itself into the tunnel it wouldn't have surprised her.

"Velves," for once Coco's voice had lost its confident edge. "What have you got?"

"Uhh… sixty seconds."

Velvet sounded nervous and Blake couldn't blame her. Though there were rumours that she'd somehow managed to take down two Goliaths, Blake wasn't sure if she believed them. Surely someone as timid as Velvet couldn't have managed to kill some of the deadliest Grimm in existence. Everyone at Beacon had known that Coco was the heavy hitter of CFVY, the lights on the ceiling were pretty and would prove a slight deterrent, but they wouldn't do all that much damage.

"Right you two stay behind me. I'll concentrate on the big stuff. Keep the rest off my flanks." Coco stepped forward planting her boot resolutely.

Blake's ears once again submitted a formal protest to her nervous system at the abuse they were suffering when Reine de Beauté span up and started spitting tracers down range. With the Grim in between the light from the hole and the illumination from the flames she doubted Coco could see what she was aiming at. But it didn't matter.

The first glowing round struck the concrete just in front of the lead Deathstalker, sending out a shower of sparks as it ricocheted. The next hit slightly nearer as Coco walked them closer until the fifth shattered an armoured plate and blew the Deathstalker backwards. A fraction of a second later the Grimm had been reduced to nothing but chunks.

To actually witness the power of Coco's weapon was terrifying. It made a mockery of the rest of theirs and Blake couldn't help but wonder just why all hunters weren't encouraged to use weapons of a similar calibre. But even the tremendous destructive power was enough. The Beowolves and Ursai sprinted forward leaving their slower brethren in their dust and though Coco swept her weapon from side to side, cutting a terrible swathe through their ranks, they still made up ground.

Reine de Beauté clicked. "Reloading!" Coco screamed, kicking her way through the piles of casings as she ran towards her bag.

Blake unloaded her pistol at the Beowolf only a dozen feet from her. Her shots were accurate enough to bring it down, but after witnessing Coco fight, the disparity in power was ridiculous. Yang at her side was spraying explosive Dust rounds downrange, the flames rolling through her hair and down her body providing her own illumination.

They acted almost as one without the need for communication as the Grimm neared. Blake ran in, span around a slash letting her off hand blade sweep through a hamstring, and just as a larger Beowolf lunged at her, her form melted.

The Beowolf's bulk hit her shadow and passed through it, heading straight into an uppercut that fractured its jaw and snapped its head back. Blake reappeared just in time to stab into the side of another that was in the process of pouncing at Yang.

The tactics they'd developed as partners had always relied on misdirecting their opponents as to just where the attack was going to come from. Her affinity for hit and run combat was the perfect complement to Yang's stand and fight nature.

Blake leapt into the middle of a pack, attacking anything she could reach and then disappeared, her shadow erupting in a flash of fire moments later. Yang waded into the confusion, and where most of Blake's strikes caused debilitating damage, Yang's were fatal.

Coco's weapon started up again, though she was concentrating on the larger Grimm who were racing to catch up. Blake did her best to protect her, but it was getting hard to see. Not only because of the sweat that was dripping to her eyes but somehow thick mist was gathering in the air. Before too long her visibility had been reduced to a few feet and the already chaotic fight turned more so. All howls, snarls, and flashing claws from nowhere.

"Velves we need some magic!" Coco shouted as she fired point blank at an Ursa who had managed to escape her protective detail.

"It's not magic, it's science!" Velvet growled through gritted teeth, each word coming between rasping breaths.

The world tuned to ice, or at least that was how it felt to Blake as the temperature plummeted fast enough for crystals to form in the air. The deadly grip of cold stole the breath from her lungs and instantly froze all the blood and sweat on her body until her clothes cracked with every movement.

"Get down!" Coco shouted and almost before Blake could react Yang hit her from her side.

With Yang's weight on top of her she hit the concrete hard, but fractions of a second later the Grimm nearest them ruptured as Coco turned her weapon on them. For the second time Blake was coated with gore, but this time she had Yang shielding her from the worst.

Her partner was lying on top of her protectively and she radiated warmth. In the heat of battle fury Yang's body temperature had risen significantly and Blake was sure that was the only thing keeping her from freezing.

The Grimm all around them were dead and Blake breathed in, sensing they had a momentary respite. The tunnel half a dozen feet away had been filled floor to ceiling with ice. It was such a massive construction that Blake suppressed the shiver her body wanted to release and glanced towards Velvet.

She was standing in the middle of the tunnel, her hands twitching in front of her. It was a truly impressive piece of Dustcraft, not many people could handle using two types at once and even Weiss wouldn't have been able to make half as much ice. No one at Beacon had really known what Velvet's Semblance was. She hadn't fought in tournaments or even in lessons, but it appeared Velvet was something of a Dust prodigy.

Judging by the foggy shapes starting to hammer on it, the ice looked like it was at least three feet thick but it wouldn't hold. The Grimm weren't to be put off by a little discomfort with their food so close by and they were still miles from Vale. It had bought them time but not much.

Yang started to rise before Velvet spoke, the exertion of whatever she was doing showing in her tone. "No stay down."

The mist nearest them twisted in on itself, morphing to brown and increasing in density until it was solid. A mass of smooth rock had cocooned the pair of them almost completely, only the end nearest their heads being open. A similar rampart had formed near Velvet and Coco was huddling in its shelter.

Blake again had to re-examine her initial evaluation of Velvet. Activating two types of Dust at once was impressive but using three types to do completely different things was almost unheard of. Velvet was simultaneously providing the light for them to see, maintaining the ice barrier, and had formed the rock over them.

If not for what watching Ozpin and the pyromancer fight it would have been the most skilled display of Dustcraft Blake had ever seen and it didn't look like Velvet had even finished yet. With one resolute motion Velvet snapped her fingers before diving behind the bastion of stone.

The world turned white. The ground bucked. The air coiled in on itself. And the Grimm screamed.

Inside her cocoon Blake was under assault. Binding light pierced into her retinas despite how her eyelids were closed and pressed up against Yang. A terrible roaring beat against her ears and the temperature had snapped from freezing to an inferno in a heartbeat.

An inferno that the Grimm could not survive. Their cries of anguish had cut off almost as quickly as they had begun and now only the crackling of flames, the hissing of steam, and the howl of the wind as oxygen raced down the tunnel to feed the fires was audible.

It was some time before either Yang or Blake felt brave enough to crawl out of their shelter. The air outside was like a sauna, the huge wall of ice having evaporated, and the water particles carried the latent heat as they hung in the air.

Yang had left first and as she turned to look back down the tunnel her jaw fell open. Blake didn't blame her. The walls glowed orange and rivulets off molten rock splattered to the floor. Any of the Grimm who had been beyond the blockade were just gone. There was no other way to describe it.

Where there had been a swarm of deadly beasts all intent on killing them, now virtually nothing remained. The solitary remnants of the horde were in the scant armoured plates that had managed to survive a heat intense enough to melt stone and metal. It suddenly occurred to Blake that the Grimm's flesh had to have gone somewhere and more than likely she was breathing in their ashes. It was almost enough to make her throw up.

The only Grimm who hadn't been vaporised were the ones who had been on their side of the ice wall. The Beowolves fur had caught fire and their flesh had been cooked. The foul smell didn't help in her efforts of attempting to keep her food in her stomach. She turned away from the horrific sight and just looked at Velvet.

The impression that she gave off was that she wouldn't be able to hurt a fly. Only a few minutes ago Blake had been internally complaining about the disparity between Coco and herself, but as it turned out Coco wasn't even CFVY's main offensive weapon. No one who looked as harmless as Velvet should have been able to do what she just did.

In the blink of an eye she'd created a firestorm that had incinerated dozens of Grimm. That would have been impressive on its own. There were only a handful of people in the world who could have done something comparable, but Velvet hadn't stopped there. The narrow confines of the tunnel had reflected the heat and the fires should have made the air entirely unbreathable. Yet Velvet had somehow managed to establish a temperature differential that made it survivable a few dozen feet away from where it had been vaporised bone.

That level of finesse and control was above everyone she'd seen before except two. Replaying the fight between Ozpin and the pyromancer had given her much to think about, they'd just seemed so much more powerful than everyone else. In truth they were still a long way above Velvet but she was at least in their league.

"Are you guys ok?" Velvet asked as her box clicked shut. In the aftermath it was unnaturally loud.

"I think so," Blake checked her body again. Her clothes had now been elevated to beyond ruined by the blood, but as far as she could see she was unharmed.

"How?" Yang still hadn't recovered from her shock and was looking back and forth between what used to be the Grimm and Velvet. "So they weren't exaggerating about the Goliaths?"

Velvet blushed.

"Damn Velvet, you're scary."

It wasn't hard for Blake to see just why Velvet tried to keep her capabilities hidden, no one could see what she'd just done and treat her the same. Velvet would have been admired and loathed, more the latter because of her heritage.

Coco moved protectively in front of Velvet and diverted the attention away from her. "Right. Our quiet insertion is now balls to the wall fucked," her accent was more pronounced as she cursed. "We've got to decide what we want to do. I reckon we're about fifteen miles from Vale. We can either still try going underground and hope no one was watching the tunnel or fall back and try and think of another route, but that would compromise everything that has been set up."

The decision was tough. It was possible they would walk straight into a trap. But after coming so far, could Blake honestly agree with the notion of abandoning their mission before it even began? A part of her, a big part of her, yearned to take the excuse not to have to go back to Vale and run.

But that was the part of her which had controlled her life for so long. The part of her that wanted to flee from any challenge, any confrontation. The part of her that would never allow her to grow as a person. A coward may live, but they would never be free.

Her future and the White Fang's were undoubtedly interlinked. She had been there right when it had evolved, it was her responsibility maybe more than anyone else's, and it was her duty to make her past wrongs right.

"Let's go on, if they're waiting for us we can fall back." Blake said.

"Yang?" Coco turned to her.

"Sure, but we don't want to get stuck between the White Fang and the Grimm."

"Velves?"

"We've come this far."

"Ok it's settled then, let's reload and move out."

* * *

 

Blake perched on the top of the ladder ignoring the protests of her sore muscles and listened intently. Her ears picked up nothing. Now that night had descended on the city, the street an inch above her head seemed quiet.

Bracing herself, she placed her hands on the underside of the manhole cover and lifted it from its mounting. To her the scrape of metal on metal was unbearably loud and it seemed almost impossible that it would go unnoticed but she couldn't stop. When there was a small gap she pulled a minute mirror from her belt and used it to look around.

The image it showed wasn't all that helpful. There wasn't enough light for the reflection to be anything more than silhouettes. Clouds were blocking out most of the moonlight and this particular section of street was not lit artificially.

Fairly confident that no one was around Blake shifted the metal circle to the side and climbed out. Quickly scanning around, her eyes allowed her to penetrate into the darkness where the mirror had failed. They were in the middle of the industrial district. Warehouses rose on both sides of the minor road making their own effort to steal light from the street and in the shadow Blake knew she was alone.

Yang thrust a pair of gym bags through the hole before clambering after them. Still looking around Blake picked hers up. It contained her weapon and the bare essentials they needed. The rest they'd left below.

Though she'd have preferred to have the comforting weight of Gambol Shroud on her back, it just wasn't suitable for the role they were playing. Carrying a weapon was not a luxury afforded to civilians and it would only make her stand out.

In the tunnel she'd changed from her combat outfit. The blood drenched material would have blown their cover in an instant, but they'd planned to change anyway. Her clothes now were civilian in nature, clothes someone might wear to a gym or to play sports, picked to compliment the bags they would be carrying.

Of course the blood hadn't only stained her clothes but her skin. In the minimal privacy of the side tunnel both she and Yang had taken their turn to strip round a corner and wash themselves off the best they could with the water they'd been carrying. Though they'd pass inspection from a distance, but Blake knew she stank, and no amount of deodorant had managed to cover it up. She just hoped anyone who came within ten feet of her didn't know what Grimm guts smelt like.

Yang had another problem. Both of their hair had been matted with blood and they'd washed it as well as they were able, but when Yang came back round the corner parts of her hair were damp gold. It appeared that the fires of her Semblance had burnt the dye away at the roots. At the moment she'd borrowed one of Coco's berets and was covering it up, but she'd need to re-dye it soon.

When the other two had made it up Blake set the manhole cover back into its mount. After so long spent in the stuffy confines of the tunnels, the fresh cool air that carried the hint of the sea stirred up a sense of nostalgia.

Vale and Beacon was the first place in years that had felt like a home. Despite  _home_  being wherever there are people who care about you, it felt good to be back. It was her mission to restore the city to its former glory and allow those who had been displaced to return to theirs.

As she was looking around Blake noticed something that brought a scowl to her face. Coco and Velvet also appeared to be savouring the air, though they were doing it from a dozen paces away… and upwind. Blake glared at them.

Coco smiled, some of the tension having left her, although their mission was by no means done, they'd got past the hardest stage. If anyone came upon them now, they'd hopefully be able to talk their way out of it.

"Sorry, but you two reek."

"Well maybe if you hadn't decided to drench us with Grimm,  _twice,_ " Yang put emphasis on the word, "Then maybe we wouldn't." After discovering just how hard it was to get Grimm intestines out of her hair Yang was taking it rather personally.

"Well I did, and you do." Coco then stuck out her tongue in a childish display entirely ill-fitting of an Atlesian noble. "Anyway, does anyone have an idea where we are?"

When they'd neared Vale they found something that was both a blessing and a curse. Rather than waste manpower guarding the tunnel the White Fang had just sealed it. After the battles that had raged across the city there would have been an ample supply of rubble and the Knights made willing labourers.

Of course while it meant that no one had heard their fights, it also meant that they couldn't reach the exit they'd planned to use near their safe house. They'd instead had to navigate the tight access tunnels meant for maintenance workers to find a manhole that wasn't in a main street.

"I dunno. I never really spent all that much time round here, but the residential district should be that way. I guess we can just start walking until we recognise something." Yang said pointing up the gentle natural slope that Vale was built on.

"I don't have any better ideas." Coco headed off and the rest of them fell in.

To begin with they spread out, each covering the point on a compass, just the way they'd been travelling all day. But what was sensible for a forest, was utterly out of place in the middle of a city. They closed in ̶ ̶ though Velvet and Coco still walked in front of the other more aromatic pair ̶ ̶ and even occasionally put on a show of talking when they spotted someone else. To an observer they would just look like four friends heading home.

But in reality they were all looking around intently without appearing to do so. It had been months since they'd been here and they all wanted to see just how it had changed. What Blake saw was not an improvement.

Even if months were mere seconds on a bureaucratic timescale, she'd expected for more to have been done to return the city to even its previous state. Almost every building still carried signs of fighting. Bullet holes, fire damage, and a significant amount were still just gutted ruins.

It had taken Atlas a day to begin work on some of the buildings that were damaged in the riots, but the White Fang hadn't managed it in all this time. Adam ̶ ̶ if he was still in power ̶ ̶ was a fool. Despite how unhinged he was, Blake thought he'd recognise the importance of returning a semblance of normalcy to the lives of the people who lived here.

That started by repairing the damage the White Fang had done, getting people back to work and on with their lives. But walking through this district it appeared he hadn't done even that. In that dark alleyway he'd told her he intended to set up a democratic government, but no government would rule a hulk of a city like this, the people wouldn't abide it.

No the White Fang must have been ruling through fear of reprisal. Not really surprising for a terrorist organisation. Blake's heart went out for everyone who had been trapped by unfortunate circumstances in the city; their lives must have been horrible. What would the poor Faunus who believed the rumours and headed here with their meagre possessions have thought when they saw that their dream of a fair life was but another fabrication?

The few people they saw walked quickly with their heads down. If they were human their clothes were ill-fitting and shabby. It wasn't hard to imagine that the White Fang would want to hand out retribution to all their old oppressors that were under their power. In fact Yang and Coco stood out; their clothes were suitably worn but appeared pristine in comparison. They'd have to see what the humans were wearing and imitate them properly.

It made Blake angry. Somewhere she'd harboured a slender aspiration that life in the city wouldn't be that bad. As much as she loathed what the White Fang had done to seize power, she'd hoped that they would at least show that the Faunus could thrive in positions of responsibility. But once again they were just providing another case study to bolster human racism.

Vale was a ruin of what it once was and it was the fault of her kind.

Luckily they didn't encounter any of the White Fang or their Knights. As soon as they worked out where they were, they made good progress along the back streets to the building that had been procured for them.

Their safe house was in an apartment complex that had escaped the worst of the fighting. Three stories tall, it was the golden yellow of the natural rocks around Vale, and was in a neighbourhood that would have been for low paid humans but was a step above the Faunus tenements.

Before heading up they walked to the rear of the property where there was a half patio, half small garden. Someone had obviously put in a lot of effort planting flowers even in this tiny patch of soil and as they weren't dead it appeared that person had survived. Coco counted four paving slabs from the corner and lifted up the loose one, pocketing the keys underneath. Just how this had been set up with the minimal communication into and out of the city Blake didn't know, but after such a long day, she was glad all they had to do was pick up a set of keys before she could collapse onto a mattress.

The corridors of the apartment building were painted the standard cheap cream white although they were tidy. In all honesty the complex seemed as though it was kept in a reasonable state of repair.

Though their apartment was disappointing to someone who had grown use to luxury, it had two bedrooms, a conjoined kitchen and living room, and a single bathroom. It was probably smaller than her hotel room but it was cosy and she only had eyes for the bed.

Coco looked round as she lowered her bag to the floor before addressing them. "Home sweet home."

Home indeed. It was just unfortunate that home happened to be in the middle of a city that was under forceful occupation by terrorists.

 


	13. Chapter 13

The high pitched clink of metal on metal was loud in the snow covered street as a man in a navy suit dropped a handful of coins into a plastic bowl.

"Bless you sir." Pyrrha said from under her layers of blankets, making sure to add a rough, almost ill tone to her voice.

The coins hadn't been worth much, but it was a lot more than most of the people walking past her gave. The majority of the business men and women in suede shoes and expensive heels did their best not to notice her at all. To them a beggar was a blot on the city. A blot that should be moved along out of their sight and out of their mind lest they feel the slightest modicum of shame in their ice cold hearts.

It was almost enough to make her hate them. Almost, but she had room left. The roiling blaze of rage and guilt that encompassed her entire being was aimed at another. Still it gave her pause to think, and as she sat on the frigid ground there wasn't much else to do.

A few spare coins could mean the difference between freezing to death in the cold climate of Atlas or being able to afford some lifesaving shelter for the night. For the people who worked in this district it was pocket change. They spent far more on their coffee.

Not that the donation was actually needed. Her shoulders were wrapped in a blanket of a homeless person simply because it made her almost invisible. If she had been stood here in normal clothes her presence would have been remarked upon, the security guards probably would have tried to identify her, and then everything she'd prepared for would have gone to waste.

But as a beggar, few wanted to look at her for more than a heartbeat. So far she'd been lucky enough to avoid any police officers trying to force her into less affluent climbs. As a result she'd had twelve hours of uninterrupted observation of her target.

The Enerdyne Corporation. The unethical designers and manufacturers of things which were essential to all walks of life, but more recently the company leading the world on all developments related to synthetic life.

Life that should never have been created. Without that life the White Fang would never have been able to down the Deliverance, never have been able to capture Vale, and without that life thousands more people would be among the living including…

On the street the people listening to music or talking into their phones jumped almost simultaneously as their devices let out an intense burst of static. Their keys jangled in their pockets as they moved back and forth randomly and one unfortunate woman had her earrings ripped from her flesh.

But Pyrrha didn't notice the pedestrians all looking around at each other. The painful claws of guilt filled her senses until it was her entire world. It was her fault he died. If she'd been stronger, if she hadn't let her guard down, it wouldn't have happened.

In truth she still didn't understand just what had occurred in that square. Vividly and repeatedly she relived through the horror of being stabbed and the nothingness of dying. Despite the impossibility she was certain that she had died. The wounds she'd suffered had been too severe for even a huntress to live through, but she was still here.

Her last, thorn wrapped in gossamer, memory of Jaune was of him looking up at her with his head on her chest and smiling with such love in his eyes it made her ache. And brief moments after that perfect scene his body had burned in incandescent fire. Somehow he'd healed her mortal wounds, perhaps even brought her back over the brink, and in doing so he'd sacrificed his own life.

Self-sacrifice for the keeper of one's heart may have been displayed by the media as the ultimate sign of that dedication but those shows and movies didn't take into account the effect the selfless action would have on the person who survived.

The only emotion that could be felt was guilt. For no matter how obtuse the person's reasoning, they always could have done something different to prevent such a tragedy. For Pyrrha it was no different, there were a hundred different opportunities to avert her heartbreak. She'd taken none of them.

Her mind had two options either it could snap under the strain or it could transform all that guilt into anger. Anger at the thing directly responsible and those who'd created it. It gave her a briefest hint of light at the end of the very long and very dark tunnel she found herself in.

But it was not an easy way out as she noticed when a discarded metal can struck her on the face. The unexpected impact knocked her back into the present and with her new awareness she finally noticed the phenomenon occurring all around her. To the best of her ability Pyrrha reined in her Semblance. Most people's Semblances were said to be tightly linked to emotions but she'd always thought herself one of the lucky few, in fight her Semblance worked flawlessly all the time.

But before Beacon she'd largely existed on a plane of near neutral emotions. She was happy when she won, sad when she lost, and lonely when others shunned her. Up until now, she hadn't know that it was possible to hurt so much and still somehow survive. In that anguish her Semblance sometimes flared all around her.

Pyrrha pushed herself back into the shadows of the alley as people looked for an explanation. Her lack of self-control had almost blown it. If anyone at Enerdyne had been present and linked the disturbance to the person she was sure they'd been briefed on, her evening would become much harder. But not impossible.

Whatever happened, she was determined to get what she wanted. And not one person would be allowed to stand in her way.

As it almost always happens with no easy explanation in sight most just shrugged their shoulders and moved on with their lives. It must have been their imagination, a freak accident, or anything other than the beggar sitting in the alleyway. Even the woman who'd lost her earrings and been helped into an office building wouldn't spend too long looking for an answer. They all had much more important things to do.

So did Pyrrha. As the sun hidden by the grey clouds drifted across the sky and began to sink, the thousands of people who worked at the Enerdyne regional headquarters clocked out.

It was when the sea of people was passing in front of her alley that Pyrrha made her move. It was too easy. A brief Push on someone's belt buckle to knock them into another group and send them all sprawling. The heated words, the scattered belongings, and an unnoticed dropped identification card that slid along the ground of its own accord until it came to rest just under her blanket.

With her prize secured Pyrrha remained sitting, watching the group almost come to blows before they were separated by their colleagues. People in these sorts of corporate positions were so high strung any little mishap could set them off. She supposed their reaction would be no better when they got to their work stations tomorrow.

As the hours passed there wasn't much for her to do other than mutter the occasional thank you as some kind soul spared her some change. It was cold and it was boring, and she was glad when the moon rose and the few stragglers on the graveyard shift were entering the building. It was time to make her move.

A beggar entered the deep shadows in the alleyway and a business woman left it. An important business woman. There was no mistaking the expense of her suit and shoes. It was someone who was a lot more important than you and it probably wasn't worth risking asking a question of her. Or that was at least what Pyrrha hoped they saw.

The suit wasn't a perfect fit, but she didn't really have time to try on different sizes when she was stealing it. Compared to breaking in to high security research facilities, stores were child's play. Especially when they relied on fancy electronics which could be made to go  _poof_  with a literal thought. When she was younger her Semblance breaking her gadgets had annoyed her to no end, now it was a useful byproduct.

Her nerves rose as she crossed the street. When in combat she was able to halt the turnings of her mind until only she and her opponents remained, but infiltrations weren't things she'd been able to practice.

All the possible ways it could go wrong sprang to her imagination, and though she wasn't all that concerned about being captured, she'd still prefer to do this quietly. Her worries were needless. The uniformed guard saw only a black haired woman with a stern and annoyed looking expression on her face.

If he'd looked closer he would have seen the security card she pressed to the scanner had an entirely different photo on it. As it was he just watched as the turnstile opened for her. Pyrrha tried to keep any outward signs to her relief minimal. She hadn't been entirely sure her plan would work. Most of the other facilities had state of the art biometric security systems, but as she hoped Enerdyne viewed military secrets more valuable than financial data. That was a mistake.

Passing through the security checkpoint she did her best to look around while not appearing to. Only a small amount of information about the internal layout of the building had been available online and though she knew roughly where she wanted to go, the exact details hadn't been forthcoming.

Not wanting to pause in the lobby she decided to head up and squeezed into an empty elevator just as the doors were closing. As the steel shut and a blurry reflection of herself faced her, she breathed out a small sigh of relief. Her heart was pounding in her chest with such intensity that the blood rushing through her veins was audible in her ears. It would have been easier just to fight her way in here, at least for her nerves.

Thankfully the elevator remained empty, the lateness of the day coming to her rescue, and Pyrrha stepped out onto cheap and stain resistant carpet. If anyone was told to picture a business office, their mental image would have been almost identical to what stood in front of her. A large open plan room with hundreds of individual cubicles all complete with a posture improving chair, computer, and forgotten dreams.

There were a few people at the far end of the room, probably rushing to meet an impossible deadline set by the management, and Pyrrha avoided them as she began to walk through the office. Her eyes scanned left and right taking in the small personal effects that were allowed in the desks of those who worked here, photos of families, plants. More importantly she was looking for a computer that had been left logged in.

She might have had many different skills at her disposal but hacking was not one of them. Unless someone was stupid enough to leave their login and password written down there was no way she'd be able to get into a closed system.

She must have passed scores of blank monitors before she came to one that was flickering through a screensaver complete with the company's logo. Doing her best to appear natural she moved the mouse and felt a brief flare of exhilaration as a desktop materialised. Dropping into the seat, she pulled her chair close.

There was zero chance of a mid-level finance employee having access to the location of a secret facility, but that wasn't why she was here. The virtual shared drives contained terabytes of economic data about the entirety of the company. A project as big as the one to create artificial life must have cost hundreds of millions of liens at the very least. That money had to be going somewhere.

Even if the majority of the meanings of the numbers were indecipherable to someone who hadn't studied them, she started to isolate the files that might hold the clues. Starting with the general financial records about five years ago and then moving on to specific requisition requests from any addresses she didn't recognise, she started to transfer the files to a memory stick. There were far too many for her to look even if she stayed here the entire night.

One of the main issues that had caused her concern was just how to get the information out. Most forms of digital memory were highly sensitive to electromagnetic fields, so much so that her entire nights work could be ruined by a brief lack of control. Before a lack of control hadn't been a problem. Now, with all her inner turmoil, it was.

It would have taken too long to copy everything to discs so instead she'd come up with another solution. All the drives she'd brought with her were protected from any errant pulses of her Semblance by anti-static bag meant for transporting sensitive electronics. As long as it was kept tightly sealed it should keep what she'd copied in perfect condition.

It was impossible for her to avoid looking around as she waited for progress bars to ever so slowly fill up. Apart from the odd guard walking down the centre of the room who overlooked her, from within her cubicle she was hidden from anyone else.

When the last of her memory sticks was full she sealed the bag and hoped that somewhere in that forest was the seed of information she needed. Having got what she came for, she could have left, but there was a specific reason that this office had piqued her interest over all the other buildings Enerdyne owned.

The architectural plans that were a matter of public record indicated the top floor was accessible by only a single reinforced staircase. Not to mention that there were about three times the normal number of security personnel assigned here and there was even on site accommodation for them. Enerdyne obviously wanted to keep people out, so naturally she wanted in.

Trying once again to appear like she belonged Pyrrha headed for the elevator. She bounced slightly from foot to foot as she waited an insufferably long time for it to arrive, before thumbing the button for the top floor. Or at least the highest level the elevator could reach.

She really had no idea just what she might find on that floor. It seemed so out of place in an office building such as this, some part of her carried the minutest hope that it would hold the key to unravelling the mysterious structure of Enerdyne.

When the doors of the elevator opened it was almost as if she was stepping out into another building. There were no cubicles, no office furniture as had been prevalent on the other floor, no thin walls. Instead the entire floor expanse was open. It was such an inefficient waste of space Pyrrha could only assume it was used to host corporate functions. In fact the large windows let in a significant amount of lunar light, she could definitely see a group of shareholders eating and drinking here.

But this floor wasn't why she'd risked ascending, the stairs up were across the room and they were guarded. A solitary white shirted security official sat reading a newspaper at their base. Pyrrha did her best not to look at him as she approached.

He was alerted to her presence by the steady clicking of her shoes and folded his paper before standing.

"Can I help you miss?" his tone was respectful, but it certainly carried the suggestion that she shouldn't be up here.

Pyrrha approached noting how he was standing with his feet shoulder width apart and his thumb hooked into his belt near his holstered gun. That he was armed while deep inside the building only cemented that there was something worth protecting upstairs.

"Oh yes," Pyrrha tried to make herself sound nervous as though she were an intern who had made a mistake. "I'm meant to be meeting Mr. Andries in his office," she said recalling a name off a door down below, "I'm sure he said it was on the fourteenth floor is it up there?"

The guard's posture relaxed very slightly. "No miss it's not. Do you know what department he's in?"

"Umm… I'm sure I have it somewhere." Pyrrha fished a cheap scroll out of its own protective bag and flicked it on to the email app. "Is this it?" she said holding it so the guard had to step up next to her to read it.

The moment he took his hand away from his gun she made her move. Dropping her scroll to the floor she caught his wrist and twisted it behind his back in one smooth motion before planting her foot onto the back of his knee. Thousands of hours practicing sparring made his next move easily predictable and when he tried to throw his weight backwards her left elbow met the base of his skull.

It was a nasty blow and she felt his Aura slipping away. Like most he barely had enough to deal with standard scrapes, certainly not enough to deal with a blow from a trained huntress. While his mind was reeling from strike Pyrrha wrapped an arm around his throat and when he was cognisant whispered menacingly in his ear.

"If you cry out or do anything other than what I say I'll snap your neck. Do you understand? Nod." The guard nodded, he wasn't pacified Pyrrha could feel the tension in his body, but he was smart enough to realise the precariousness of his situation. "Good now get up."

He let up a grunt of pain as she twisted his arm further towards his shoulder blades as a reminder not to do anything stupid. "Start walking."

Pyrrha guided him towards the stairs. Ascending was a little difficult as she had to retain the grip on his wrist and the arm around his neck, but she was taller than he was so it was manageable. At the top of the stairs was a short landing with rooms on either side but she only had eyes for the security door.

Pyrrha manhandled her victim up to the biometric scanner and pushed his face up to the slots. "Open it."

For a moment she feared that even the guard wouldn't be able to unlock it, so obsessed was Enerdyne with security, but after a few moments and several bleeps, air rushed out as the door began to crack open.

For the second time Pyrrha slammed her elbow into the base of the guard's skull only this time his Aura was unable to mitigate the damage. His body dropped as though it were a puppet whose strings had been cut. She didn't envy him. Not only would he have a splitting headache when he woke but he'd been wilfully compliant with her and the Enerdyne corporation did not tolerate failure.

As soon as she'd crossed the frame of the door it slid shut and her eyes blinked rapidly as her body was dowsed by some sort of spray. She was in what looked like a decontamination corridor, a light on the wall cycled from red to green as the procedure finished and the other door opened.

The room beyond continued the theme of antiseptic whiteness that had been in the corridor and even the two guards were in protective overalls. The moment they saw someone wearing a normal suit their pistols jumped to their hands.

For two guards who had presumably been stationed here for who knew how long with no alerts their reaction times were impressive, they even moved with a speed approaching that of trained hunters. But they weren't even close to fast enough.

They had to overcome inertia to bring their weapons to bear, Pyrrha just had to think. She'd gone through the door with her Semblance poised on the brink of action and it only took some electrons running down her neural pathways to send it over edge.

The two guards were thrown away from her, their weights almost cancelling each other out and ensuring that she barely moved. As she continued to Push on them they accelerated away from her in opposite directions, sound only beginning to escape from their mouths when their trajectories terminated as they smashed into the tiled walls.

The left guard's head snapped backwards sickeningly as his shoulders hit and he slid down it slowly, a trail of crimson marring the clean white. The right guard bounced from the wall with another crunch and did not move.

Their guns hit the floor. It was only in the past few months that Pyrrha was beginning to realise just how far above normal people she was. Her entire life had been spent competing against her peers and to them she was close to untouchable. To the people who weren't hunters, she was. It had taken a fraction of a second to neutralise two strong, well trained guards, and it had barely taxed her at all.

She moved on, striding calmly down a long corridor. This was better than infiltration, her mind was focussed only on her objective. Glancing left and right every time she passed a door and her excitement grew. It was a lab of some kind. Ostensibly Enerdyne produced pharmaceuticals and though this could have been for that, it didn't make sense. Just why it was at the top of an office tower?

But she didn't stop to investigate any of the white rooms. Information was her goal not equipment. Surely there would be somewhere which had what she needed. It could have been a quirk of architecture, but likely wasn't, when the corridor brought her to another open room complete with a dozen more guards.

They'd been expecting her. She had a perfect view into the maws of a dozen weapons. It was enough to cause even a veteran fighter to freeze but not her. After all, guns were made of metal. A dozen fingers snapped like dry twigs as they were caught in the trigger guards when the weapons were scattered by a pulse of invisible force.

One wore a metal belt buckle. He died first. It ripped upwards shattering his jaw in a spray of blood. The other eleven could barely react as the buckle zipped between them, cracking skulls and splintering ribs. The soldiers had likely been trained, and maybe even tested, against hunters.

But they had never fought Pyrrha.

Men screamed and fell. The only weapon Pyrrha used to rip through their ranks was an item of clothing and it was all she needed. As the last crumpled to the floor with the buckle lodged in his skull she took her second step since entering the room.

It had taken her mere seconds but the simple truth was that as a child she had learned to fight, to duel. Now she knew how to kill. Even without Miló and Akoúo she had been forged into a terrible weapon ̶ ̶ one that, until recently, she hadn't understood.

A Huntress.

Pyrrha walked over the corpses feeling a numbing sense of satisfaction. These men had fought to uphold the company that had caused the deaths of so many, who had killed Jaune. They carried his blood on their hands.

Even before she went to push open the door at the other end of the room Pyrrha knew that if this building contained answers they would be behind it. But the handle didn't budge when she put her weight on it.

Her carmine splattered brow furrowed as she readied her Semblance again and all the sources of metal seemed to light up in her mind. Most people had a lot of it on them, belts, zips, steel capped boots, coins, and more. The bodies slid across the room trailing blood and bone and the moment they hit the walls Pyrrha flared her Semblance Pushing against them all and the door in front of her.

A great weight settled upon every inch of her exposed skin as she was crushed between the reactionary forces of the corpses and the door, but she refused to be cowed. She Pushed harder, feeling more bones break as the forces acting on the various bits of metal caused them to penetrate the cooling flesh. The lights flickered.

It only took an instant for the door to fail catastrophically. It was ripped from its hinges and with it no longer being restrained the tremendous force sent it hurtling into the room beyond.

Pyrrha relaxed and the pain eased. It was never pleasant to be the fulcrum for such a confluence of forces but recently she was finding herself doing it more and more. Doors just weren't built to withstand such a steady and immense pressure.

She'd been lucky. The room beyond was filled with banks and banks of twinkling servers and the cumbersome missile that was the door had missed all of them. A terminal stood waiting for her in the centre.

The operating system was different from any she had experience with. There was just simple text and flashing caret at the bottom. For a moment she panicked thinking that she'd have to type in commands she had no idea about but thankfully she found she could navigate through the folders with the directional arrows.

The first contained complicated chemical formulas which she couldn't even begin to understand and which were likely not helpful. The next contained more financial data, the one after personnel records, after that what looked like patents. Going through more folders she became very aware of the time trickling away. It wouldn't be long before the rest of the security staff reached her.

She looked over the station for anywhere to connect a memory stick but couldn't find a port on the blank plastic and returned to the screen, desperation entering her as she cycled through more folders.

She didn't have the time to look at all of them. Unless one was titled  _Locations of Secret Bases_  she'd probably miss it. The final folder was named  _Persephone_  and as she tried to enter it, for the first time a password was required.

Her growing frustration got the better of her and she slammed her fist down next to the keyboard. She knew that what she needed must be somewhere here and it was just a small step away from her, but at the same time she knew she'd need hours when she had seconds.

Without an access point for her memory stick she only had one option. Hoping beyond hope that the majority of the information was stored locally rather than on the servers all around she ripped the side off the computer casing and pulled out the hard drive, depositing it in the protective bag that had held her burner scroll.

With one last vindictive effort she let her Semblance run wild. Sparks erupted from the whirring computers that surrounded her and on mass they failed. With the air filling with the cloying smell of burning plastic she left the room.

Her progress back was easy, far too easy. She'd made enough noise for the entire building to hear, but in the white rooms all she found was silence and corpses. It was only when she'd passed through the decontamination corridor again that she heard signs of her reception party.

Down the bottom of the stairs her ears picked the sounds of shuffling boots. They must have heard her as well for a loud voice came over the buildings intercom.

"You are surrounded. Come out with your hands up or we will fire."

Pyrrha felt a grin stretch her lips. If they wanted her to come out with her hands up, then that is exactly what she would do. They obviously hadn't linked her to any of the other attacks yet, otherwise they would never place such a pointless limitation on her.

"I'm coming out," she called as her feet started to descend the steps.

As those in the hall below caught sight of her legs there was a flurry of movement as they readjusted her aim. If she wasn't so confident Pyrrha would have been nervous, but this was literally just another fight.

She had to work very hard to not laugh as she caught her first glimpse of what was waiting for her. There must have been over fifty soldiers in the room ̶ ̶ when they all were wearing body armour and had automatic rifles they were soldiers not guards ̶ ̶ it was a little ridiculous when she took into account they were all there to combat only one person.

It appeared that all the rooms for the security personnel had been entirely emptied, most had probably been roused from their beds, but now with adrenaline pounding through their system they were alert.

"Keep walking to the centre of the room." Pyrrha glanced sideways at the one who spoke while complying. He was didn't have a rifle in his hands or even on his body. Belted at his waist was a cobalt blue construction that would likely fold out into a fabulous weapon. So he was hunter or had at least trained to be one long enough to design his own tools. Now that she was looking for them it was easy to spot two more.

Outnumbered fifty to one with hunters to boot it was almost a fair fight.  _Almost._ Soldiers moved behind her until she was completely encircled.

"Get on your knees." With her fingers interlaced behind her head and under the barrels of scores of weapons she did as instructed. With a signal from their leader one of the soldiers started to move towards her with a set of handcuffs.

It was time. With her sight completely obscured by the ring of soldiers she had them exactly where she wanted them. Pyrrha ignored all their guns pointed in her direction and instead sent her Semblance questing further afield until it encountered the metal frames of the windows in every direction.

They were ostentatiously large and while attempting not to show any outside signs of her strain Pyrrha Pulled on them all at once. It was almost as if something inside of her was trying to rip her apart, but she pushed the agony to the back of her mind and Pulled harder.

Glass exploded. She felt the metal frames twist and burst inwards. She imagined more than saw the air full of thousands of shards of twinkling glass. She heard men and women scream as glass and metal carved its way through their Auras and embedded itself in their flesh.

Guns went off. In the chaos most of the rounds missed her but Pyrrha felt several slapping stings to her Aura. She bounded to her feet Pushing on any bits of metal on the soldiers on one side of her. Their combined body weight was much greater than hers and consequently they barely moved while she was thrown the other way.

As devastating as her initial attack was she knew it would only have taken down the outer most layer of troops. The moment the others recovered they would do their best to kill her, she wouldn't let them have the opportunity.

The spike of her heel snapped on a piece of armour as she arrested her momentum with a crunching kick to a chest and with annoyance she directed her Semblance downwards into the metal clasps ripping the expensive leather from her feet.

The momentary distraction cost her more hits. The bullets didn't penetrate her Aura but with everything she was pouring into her Semblance they were beginning to come close. She Pushed against the offending weapon and it smashed against its owner's skull, dropping them.

With increasing speed Pyrrha kept moving, Pushing against any metal her Semblance detected, disrupting her opponents and keeping herself a flickering shadow amidst the chaos.

But there were too many. Wherever she ended up, more were waiting and though most had been stripped of their guns, they attempted to engage her in hand to hand combat. Individually they weren't close to good enough, but in the end numbers always matter and halfway through a reverse throw that would have dislocated a shoulder someone struck her bodily in the back.

In the end it came down to simple mass. Despite her stature, he was heavier and catching her unprepared she was thrown to the floor. In the sea of legs and with a body on top of her she was nearly worried.  _Nearly._  Combat was the one area of her life these days that was just so simple. There was no need to think, no trying to avoid the authorities, no guilt. Just her and her enemies. And she would not be beaten.

The few donated coins that she had pocketed ripped through her jacket pocket as she Pushed on them. The moment they struck the floor and couldn't move any further, her Push sent her and the soldier holding onto her skywards.

His grip slipped as they cleared head height and the moment he fell free she Pushed against him. She flew over the soldiers below even as he was sent the other way. Keeping her momentum up by pulling on the large pillars around the edges of the room it might have looked as if she was running but near the shattered windows she allowed herself to drop to the glass covered floor.

The perhaps twenty soldiers left standing in the centre of the room surrounded by the wreckages of the window and corpses mangled on the metal remnants brought what weapons they'd retained to bear. Pyrrha bowed her head, settled her breathing, and Pushed against all of it in frightful burst of strength.

The impaled bodies were thrown away from her. The twisted frames scythed down those who were still standing in the centre and the entire mass continued unabated. Dead, dying, and unharmed were swept from the room, Pushed out of the window opposite. Some screamed as more than fifty men and women were sent plummeting to their deaths, leaving only blood and glass on the once pristine floor.

Pyrrha didn't have time to celebrate at some point even her prodigious strength had given out and her hold on the two equidistant pillars she was using to brace herself slipped. She was sent hurtling out the shattered window behind her. Snowflakes swirled around her and the gusts of wind this high up tore her black wig free.

Freefalling most would have panicked, but most hadn't spent days practicing their landing strategies. It took her a few moments to reorient herself, but the moment the building was back in site she Pulled against it. Her body lurched as her momentum was rapidly reversed and she flared her Aura moments before she struck the windows of the floor below.

More glass burst inwards and Pyrrha rolled on her shoulder before coming to her toes in a ready crouch. There was no sign of any employees she guessed they must have fled from the gunfire.

"Come on then, just you and me!" A familiar voice roared from over the top of some cubicles.

For the first time Pyrrha felt shock. The leader of the troops had somehow managed to survive being thrown out the window just as she had, and was now striding towards her swinging an axe with a glowing red blade.

Pyrrha tried to match his approach but grimaced as her weight pressed down on her sole. Her exertions had meant she'd to diverted energy from her Aura in order to power her Semblance and at some point one of the numerous shards of glass had lodged itself in her bare foot.

It hurt enough that it managed to overcome her adrenaline but the hunter wouldn't wait for her to pull it out. She'd killed his troops ̶ ̶ probably his friends ̶ ̶ and rage boiled from every line of his body.

But it was nothing but a candle before hers. The pain slipped away from her mind as she strode to meet him. He was fighting to protect everything she so despised.

The distance between the two of them closed, neither halting their march as they glared into each other's eyes. Pyrrha tried to read his gaze. He knew what she could do, but she was unarmed, and so far she'd managed to avoid him, it would be easy. He was a hunter.

He leapt forward, his axe leaving a streak behind it in the air as he swung. Pyrrha Pulled on his weapon, ripping it from his grasp and catching it in both of her hands. Redirecting its momentum she spun in a circle, the unfamiliar weight threatening to throw her off balance, and as she completed her revolution she buried it in her stumbling opponent's chest. Ribs shattered and the blade lodged in his spine. His flesh began to smoke and her nostrils were filled with the stench.

Letting go of the axe Pyrrha felt herself sag as her muscles drained of their unreleased tension. The fight had been brief, anticlimactic, and almost disappointingly easy. But that was who she was. Even hunters couldn't hope to stand against her, not when she was no longer bound by rules and stipulations. Bending down she clenched her jaw and dug the shard out of her foot, flaring her Aura to speed up the healing process.

In the past few months the extreme loads her Aura had been subjected to meant the amount she had available had increased dramatically. It was known that just like any muscle Aura needed to be exercised to maintain its vitality. Though it normally didn't grow that much stronger she'd been asking far more of her body than she had any right to. So far it hadn't let her down.

A year ago, even after doing only half the things she'd done today she would likely have been spent. But now only after a few moments of rest, her Aura had healed the cut in her foot and was massaging her tired muscles.

She couldn't stay here though. The police and probably more troops would be on the way. She headed to the elevators while unleashing her Semblance. The scores of electronic devices all sparked as they were filled with a current far beyond their design maximum and flames sprang up all around her. The alarm system must have been more robustly built for a warbling filled the air and her hair was plastered to her shoulders as she was drenched in completely stagnant smelling water.

She jogged down the stairs ̶ ̶ having found the elevators rendered non-functional by the fires ̶ ̶ and two floors down she caught up with a throng of others evacuating. It was almost inconceivable they hadn't heard the fighting, but apparently they were only concerned with the fire. Soaked and without shoes she looked out of place, but with the majority of the blood washed away it was perhaps expected in this particular situation, and concentrating on their own well-being no one glanced twice at her.

In the atrium the security guards that had observed her when she came in were now ushering everybody out. They couldn't possibly know what had happened to their fellows or that the person who had caused it was under their gaze. Just as she passed their security booth, she located the camera system and fried it. The guards jumped as more sparks erupted and the measured evacuation became a race for the exit.

A race that was halted as soon as people saw what was waiting for them outside. A fall from that height did not do things to the human body that were pleasant on the eye. Staring at her shattered victims she tried to feel the slightest bit of compassion but couldn't.

They deserved everything that had happened to them. She turned away.

For her in particular the air outside was bitterly cold and even through her Aura she could feel her the icy, snow covered asphalt biting into her bare feet. Wrapping her arms around herself and shivering she hurried away from the group of gawking and vomiting employees into the shadows just as the first flashing blue lights appeared.

It only took her a minute or so to reach where she'd stashed her blankets but in Atlas, at night, and when soaked to the skin that minute proved to be an awfully long time. Her toes were entirely numb and her shivers encompassed her entire body as she stripped in the snow, throwing her sodden clothes into a bag and pulling on more casual ones. She hadn't thought to pack a towel and instead had to use the filthy blankets to dry herself off as best as possible.

The girl who left the alley looked nothing like the business woman who'd entered. She'd traded her black wig for a blonde one and carrying a bag she could have almost been on her way back from a late night lesson. It might have been easier to dye her hair, but somewhere deep down inside of her was the desire for Enerdyne to know it was her who was doing this to them.

As more police cars and fire trucks raced passed her Pyrrha turned back and savoured the orange glow at the top of the building. If she was lucky the information she needed was on either the memory sticks or the hard drive. And if she wasn't? She'd still caused them pain.

Pyrrha blinked tears out of her eyes.

Maybe, just maybe, when she'd killed Penny and those who had created her, she'd stop seeing Jaune in her dreams.

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

Ruby stepped from the shower onto the towel she'd put down and began drying herself off. As much as it might have surprised her when she first started staying in the penthouse with Weiss, there were many things she'd managed to get used to.

The stunning view, the copious amounts of space, even the quiet didn't bother her quite as much anymore ̶ ̶ something she took as a reminder of just how far she'd come. But one of the things she hadn't managed to get used to, were the towels.

They had a similar texture to what she imagined a cloud must be like, not one of the tempestuous grey ones that crowded Atlas' skies but a solitary white one in a sea of blue on a summers day. They were so soft it was almost as if she wasn't actually able to touch them, otherwise surely her skin would have reported more to her brain. They were so warm it was like being wrapped in a blanket of sunshine. And the best thing was she got new ones every single day.

It was very easy to forget about abstract concepts like money when living in a world where it didn't seem to exist. Every one of her needs was provided for her without her ever needing to reach for her purse and when she went out by herself she used one of Weiss' cards.

If it wasn't for the fact she could work for two lifetimes and still likely not be able to save enough to stay at this hotel for more than a couple of weeks,she would have sworn to pay Weiss back. As it was her only option was to be incredibly grateful and try to make up for it in other ways.

Ruby finished towelling herself dry, stepped into her best set of underwear, and then exited  _her_  bathroom. In keeping with where she was supposedly sleeping all her clothes were stored in here. With vibrant energy in her step she positively bounced into her walk-in wardrobe and started picking through all the dresses Weiss had at one stage or another bought for her.

Though her morning routine had been the usual ̶ preparing Weiss breakfast and then heading to her appointment with Celeste ̶ ̶ the rest of the day was going to be remarkably different. Weiss had booked the afternoon off and, unlike before there hadn't been any terrorist attacks or city wide riots that had required Weiss to work anyway. If all went as planned, Weiss would be back in less than thirty minutes.

And she still wasn't dressed. Panic flared in her breast. Today had to be perfect. She still hadn't forgiven herself for how she'd acted on her birthday. Whatever Weiss may pretend it was clear that her actions had hurt her girlfriend immensely.

Just as Yang had said Weiss did not trust easily. Trusting someone only made you vulnerable to them, and normally Weiss could not afford such weaknesses. It had never been Ruby's intention to hurt her girlfriend. Just in the heat of the moment with such awful news being foisted on her, she'd turned to the person who quite often had all the answers.

Only this time Weiss hadn't and she'd lashed out. It was often said that words can cause wounds that simply don't heal and though she'd tried to undo the damage with her impromptu dance session on the rooftop, she was sure deep down Weiss was still hurting.

In truth so was she. Though she managed to keep busy most of the time, whenever she slowed it was impossible not to worry about Yang and Blake. Their departure had been one of the hardest moments of her life. If she hadn't had Weiss' indomitable strength to support her she was sure it would have been too much.

As it was she'd burst into tears the moment Yang had closed the door and hadn't stopped crying for about an hour despite Weiss lowering her onto the sofa and holding her. Yang had been a permanent fixture in her life for so long ̶ ̶ even at Signal she'd only been a short journey away ̶ ̶ and now she was gone.

And to make it worse they hadn't heard anything. The darkest parts of her mind kept reminding her that Yang and Blake could be dead and she likely wouldn't know for months. They would have gone out on a  _hunt_  and never returned. Just like her mum. The parallels were truly horrible to consider.

Part of the reason why she'd become a huntress was to make sure nothing like that ever happened again and yet here she was. She had the skills, but still had to let them go into danger without her. It was unfair.

Ruby could tell it was no easier on Weiss. Even if she was reluctant to talk about what she was feeling, Yang and Blake held the very rare honour of being two of her few friends. Coupled with how Ruby knew she'd hurt her, she wanted to make this day special.

That was why her choice of outfit was so important. Would Weiss prefer the red polka dot? Or should she dress in the Schnee's colours? Or should she just wear her normal clothes? It was poor luck that the person she would normally ask for fashion advice was the person she was trying to impress.

Her normal outfit went firmly in the reject pile, though it was incredibly comfortable, it wouldn't quite fit in with the stores they would be visiting. That was another reason why butterflies were fluttering uncontrollably in her stomach. Weiss was taking her to buy a formal dress for the next ball. She only hoped whatever they picked didn't make her look too plain.

It was the simple truth that she was both lucky and unlucky enough to be surrounded by incredibly attractive people. Weiss could wear a blanket and make it look stunning, Yang filled out whatever outfit she picked with sensuous curves, and Blake always held an air of mystery most would love to have even half of.

Whereas she was… well her. She didn't have Weiss' grace, instead she was clumsy. She didn't have her sister's voluptuous breasts, though she was rounding out slightly she still didn't like the sight of hers in the mirror. She doubted anyone had ever seen her and wanted to ask for her number, not like they did with all her friends.

She was happy for them, but it also made her jealous. The entire reasoning behind her attending the ball to help support Weiss, but when they were both dressed up with Weiss looking like a goddess, what would it make her look like in comparison?

Ruby shook the negative thoughts out of her head, thinking about five things in her life she was grateful for ̶ ̶ another little trick taught to her by Celeste. Her life was good and she should be happy.

The polka dot it was. Weiss had brought it for her and so far hadn't had a chance to really see her in it, plus it was red. It took a bit of effort to squeeze into it but once on it fit her body snuggly. It almost looked good if not for her legs.

Her muscles shifted with every movement just under her skin, but it was her skin that bothered her. It was pasty white and it wasn't the healthy white of Weiss skin tone which was natural, instead it just looked as if her legs hadn't seen enough sun. Luckily the climate in Atlas gave her an excuse to wear tights. Slipping on a pair of flats Ruby looked at herself. In all honesty she didn't look too bad. For a moment she considered doing something with her hair or even putting on some makeup before the clatter of keys on a table reached her ears.

Her heart leapt at the sound and for a moment she supposed this was what Zwei must feel like whenever someone came home. If she had a tail she almost would have taken off. As much as she was learning to at least cope with the time she spent alone, she still only felt complete when Weiss was with her.

Her shoes barely seemed to touch the floor as she raced out to greet Weiss, but then just out of sight she paused, a grin finding its way onto her face.

"Ruby," Weiss called out, "do you want to ̶ ̶ "

Weiss cut off in surprise as she felt the ghost of something warm mash against her lips for a fraction of a heartbeat. Her face twisted as she attempted to work out if she had imagined the sensation. Concluding that she hadn't, she tried to work out what it was. Her eyes caught a few rose petals that were floating lackadaisically on currents stirred in the air.

"Did you ̶ ̶ "

It happened again. A blur and contact pleasurable enough to leave her lamenting its briefness but this time she distinctly heard a light giggle.

Annoyance filled her tone, "Ruby come out this instant. I'm warning you ̶ ̶ "

Not able to contain herself any longer Ruby activated her Semblance and ran around the door again. It had been difficult to have the precision to kiss Weiss at that speed without them chipping each other's teeth and then retreat, but she'd more or less managed it.

Once again in her bubble of heightened awareness Ruby saw Weiss standing there, her hands screwed up at her sides and an adorable scowl on her face. When Weiss was directing real anger at her she was one of the scariest people on the planet, but right now she just looked unbearably cute.

Weiss' mouth was moving ever so slowly and waiting for her moment when Weiss' lips were pursed while pronouncing a word, Ruby pounced again. Her lips met lusciously soft flesh again only this time she didn't leave.

Cerulean eyes widened before Weiss' entire body melted in her arms. Ruby stepped closer wrapping her arms around Weiss' back until she could feel the heat of Weiss' breasts pressed against her own. As was so often the case whenever they kissed, Ruby wasn't able to recall the exact moment Weiss took control. All she knew was that at some point a foreign but not entirely unfamiliar tongue was exploring her mouth.

That was often the way it went. It was only natural that Weiss would be the slightly more dominant one in their relationship ̶ ̶ after all it was her job to boss people around ̶ but Ruby didn't mind it. As long as it was she Weiss was kissing, that was all that mattered.

But today it irked her that she had managed to lose control of the situation so quickly. It was she whom had been the aggressor and yet Weiss had taken that role from her. Slowly and gradually she began to increase her resistance to the invader in her mouth, lightning shooting along her nerves as the unique texture that was Weiss' tongue coiled around her own.

When Weiss broke off to draw a breath into her aching lungs Ruby seized the opportunity, not letting her entirely recuperate before gaining the initiative. From the way their heated flesh was pressed up against each other she could feel the shudder run through Weiss' body at the intrusion but Ruby wasn't about to let up her advantage that easily.

Several more long sweaty minutes passed as they battled, When they both finally decided to relieve the fatigue and gulp down some air Ruby found herself lying on one of the hard sofas resting with her elbows either side of Weiss' now very dishevelled head.

Ruby grinned. She guessed their positioning meant that she'd won. As incredible as Weiss normally looked there was something special about seeing her in this state. Ruby knew Weiss would almost die of mortification if anyone else saw her like this, but Weiss trusted her ̶ ̶ not to mention probably blamed her for her messed up hair.

As Weiss stared up at her with unfocused eyes while panting softly Ruby suddenly remembered that she hadn't even said hello.

"Hi," Ruby said still not moving from where she was pinning Weiss, the warmth from all the points of contact between their bodies was too pleasant to discard.

"Good afternoon," Weiss seemed to have recovered some of her usual poise as she quirked an eyebrow, "Do you greet everyone who comes to the apartment like that?"

"Yep," Ruby said responding to the playful nature of Weiss tone and immediately regretting it. It was tiny and passed quicker than the last spark of a fire, but she saw the flash of fear that passed across Weiss' eyes and noticed how just for an instant Weiss seemed to clutch her closer. She'd been hurt too many times and far too often for even a jest to sit comfortably. But the one thing Ruby knew more than anything else is that she would not cause Weiss to hurt in that way.

"Of course I don't Weiss, I love you." Ruby leant down and kissed her again, but much more gently.

Even if she'd deny it, Ruby felt the tension leave Weiss' body at the needless words. "Anyway I made us lunch." She expected Weiss to say something but her girlfriend just continued to stare at her.

Finally Weiss huffed, "Don't you think you should let me up so we can eat?"

"Oh," Ruby felt the sting of embarrassment; that would probably be a good course of action. But it was a course of action that was entirely disagreeable to her. The expanses of her skin that lost contact with Weiss complained bitterly at the unfairness of it all but as she had learned so clearly recently, life itself was unfair.

When Weiss clambered up she took a moment to look down at herself before directing a glare at the person responsible for her ruined appearance.

"What? It's not like it was all me," Ruby said while pulling her own dress strap back onto her shoulder. Granted her toll on Weiss' outfit was much greater than the reverse, but that was only because Weiss' outfit was that much more complicated.

Weiss continued to frown as she pulled her skirt back down her legs, covering up her smooth and ever so soft thighs. When Weiss had restored her business suit to at least a modicum of propriety she spoke again. "You look great by the way."

The compliment from Weiss was almost enough to make Ruby believe she might start to float a few inches from the floor. It wasn't exactly that Weiss didn't give many compliments, but she only gave them when they were thoroughly deserved. Knowing that the outfit she'd deliberated over for so long had met Weiss' approval made her beam from ear to ear.

"Thanks. So do you want to eat?" Ruby said making her way to the fridge. "I made sushi again. You seemed to enjoy it so much last time." That wasn't the only reason. She didn't want to have a food Weiss obviously liked to be tainted by what had happened later that day.

"It smells great. You really must show me how to make it one of these days." Weiss stood behind her and took the plates Ruby passed back. Ruby could only feel excited by that prospect, remembering the last time they had cooked together. All those weeks ago it had been a bright point in the darkness, but now she was so much better, an evening shared with Weiss like that would be even more incredible.

Together they moved towards the table and sat at the corner. As they ate they talked about fairly insubstantial things, the weather, the traffic, the food, both steering clear of topics that were sure to dampen the mood. Ruby herself mainly listened and found it increasingly difficult to concentrate as Weiss lightly and almost unknowingly ran her toe up and down her leg causing goosebumps to erupt on her skin.

After they'd finished, Weiss had thanked her with a kiss before excusing herself to get changed and freshened up. Ruby was halfway through cleaning the table when the doorbell rang.

She walked over puzzling over just who it could be? The cleaning staff came in the morning and neither of them had ordered anything from room service. As she cracked the door open it was one of the last people she'd expected.

"Good afternoon Ruby," Winter Schnee's cool voice robbed her of the capacity for thought.

Ruby felt a tightness in her throat as she just stared. As usual Winter's appearance managed to take her breath away and she was left lamenting her own. Her friends were all incredibly beautiful, but at least they were people. Winter wasn't.

Winter was an ideal. An ideal of what beauty actually was. Someone who was the perfect mix of curves and colours may have been said to be aesthetically beautiful, but Winter had so much more than that. Just standing there she had more poise and grace than most people would ever have; behind her eyes the intelligence that had so intimidated Ruby when they had first met in her room back at Beacon simmered, ready to be harnessed. Winter had it all, and she had it all in spades.

"Uhh… hi." Ruby said finally finding her voice under Winter's stern gaze and at least remembering this time not to try and shake her hand. "Umm… Do you want to come in? I guess you're here to see Weiss."

"You could say that," Winter swept past her as if she owned the apartment and, in reality, she sort of did.

As Winter stood and watched her close the door, Ruby felt her good mood dissipating like mist under the sun. They'd just been about to leave and now Winter was here. There was no way she had good news the only thing that would have brought her to see Weiss was some bad omen. Once again Weiss would be taken away from her.

"So Ruby how have you been?"

Ruby jumped slightly at the question. They could both hear the shower and it seemed that Winter had decided to fill the time with small talk. Winter's question sounded as if she actually cared about the answer but as the saying went  _first impressions last a lifetime_  and Ruby couldn't help but think back to the falseness of their first meeting.

Then again Winter had helped her when she'd gone to the Eiszapfen on her birthday. Winter was an enigma, but when it came down to it she always preferred to try and see the best side of people. Maybe Winter was genuinely asking.

"Good thanks. There's still some sushi left over if you want any," Ruby said waving her hand at the half cleaned table and the few rolls that still sat on the plates.

It was obvious what Winter's answer was going to be by the distaste that briefly marred her perfect features. "No thank you, I've already eaten."

"Oh." So she wasn't just standing there facing Winter Ruby busied herself with the remaining plates.

The silence was cavernous. She'd never been the best at small talk anyway and with someone like Winter even her meagre skills left her. They'd actually spent a fair bit of time in each other's company, though it had been time that was better left in the past.

Her vigil at Weiss' bedside at the hospital had seen only two other people visit. Erashan who remained stoically silent with rage boiling off him for the most part and Winter who arrived periodically and sat holding Weiss' other hand. Neither of them had been in much mood to talk and they had left each other to their thoughts.

Ruby blurted out the first thing on her mind to try and fill the quiet. "What did you have?"

"Excuse me?" Winter ceased tapping on her phone.

"What did you eat? You know, for lunch?"

"I had a salad." Winter seemed to make an effort to put her phone away. "Sorry I had to answer that. It's good you're doing well. Do you like living here?"

"Umm… yeah." Her impression of the apartment had gradually improved as she started to recover. Though she would obviously still prefer to be at Beacon, she recognised just how lucky she was to be staying in a place that would make most turn green with envy. "It's a beautiful apartment."

"I suppose it is, though it isn't exactly what I would have picked. Tell me how's your bedroom?" Winter watched her intently.

"Big…" Ruby wasn't quite sure what Winter wanted but luckily she was saved by Weiss' voice.

"Ruby do you know where my…" Weiss trailed off as she appeared in the doorway dressed in a bathrobe and with a towel wrapped around her head.

"Good afternoon Weiss," Winter said the familiar smirk back on her face.

Weiss visibly recovered from the surprise and her back straightened as she regarded her sister. "And to you too. Why are you here? Has something happened?"

Weiss had obviously jumped to the same conclusions she had, but for the first time Ruby saw something unexpected creep into Winter's posture. Underneath the mountain of poise and confidence, Winter definitely hesitated before answering.

When she did speak it was in an air of someone throwing an idea out there and not caring just how it fell. "I saw you'd booked the afternoon off and I thought we might do something together? If you want?"

Weiss' face fell and she stepped closer to her sister. "Winter I'm sorry but I've already made plans with Ruby."

"Oh... It doesn't matter. I have a report I need to review anyway. Another time perhaps?" Winter said as she turned away and headed towards the door, her face entirely blank.

From the outside perspective Ruby had seen just how much the interaction had affected both of the sisters. It was easy to tell from their conversations just how much Weiss was enjoying the gradually thawing relationship with Winter, and it had been only too obvious just how much Winter cared for Weiss in the hospital.

Weiss was left drooping as much as her sodden hair as she watched Winter retreat and as for Winter she had made the first tentative move. Weiss and Winter may have been much, much more intelligent than her, but in the terms of having a loving relationship with a sister she was years ahead of both of them.

As much as she might have been looking forward to the day spent alone with Weiss, the first time in weeks she had her to herself, she wanted to make Weiss happy. She knew just how incredible it was to have a sister and she wanted Weiss to know that as well. If it came down to it, she'd do just about anything for Weiss, including altering their carefully arranged plans.

Winter started as Ruby appeared in front of her in flutter of rose petals. "Winter stop. We were going to go shopping. I need a dress for the next ball and I could use your opinion as well."

"You're going to the Laven ball?" Winter couldn't quite keep the scepticism out of her voice.

"Yep and I need a dress. What do you say, do you want to help me?"

Winter looked behind her back at Weiss and was clearly weighing things up in her mind.

"Ruby you don't have to," Weiss said walking up to them.

"No but I want to. It'll be fun and to be honest I'll probably need both of you to help me at least not look completely ridiculous. Come on Winter I'm not taking no for an answer." It was a little weird to address Winter so casually but at the same time it felt right. It was just like how normal families spoke to each other, she had to show them how to behave.

Weiss looked at Winter. "You better listen to her. She won't change her mind, not when she's like this."

"Weiss is right, you're not leaving this hotel without us." Ruby was positively bouncing on her toes at the change her plan had brought over Weiss. It was clear just how much Weiss wanted this.

"Very well, I know when I'm beaten." Winter sighed plucking a petal off her shoulder and speaking to her sister. "Does she do this a lot? Use her Semblance?"

The question seemed to remind Weiss just what had led to their very affectionate greeting and a  _hopefully_  playful scowl appeared on her lips, but just in case Ruby decided to change the subject. "Do you have a Semblance Winter?" She guessed she did, twins often had similar strengths of Aura and even sometimes similar Semblances.

But as soon as the question left her mouth, it was obvious that it had struck a nerve. Masks of neutrality appeared on both Winter and Weiss' faces and they exchanged a glance before Winter answered. "Yes I do, though I don't use it often. If we're going shopping I think I better use the restroom. Excuse me."

Weiss shook her head clearly telling her not to question it any further. As soon as Winter shut the door to the apartment's standalone restroom, Weiss stepped in closer.

"I can't thank you enough. I know just how much you've been looking forward to having us spend time alone and you've sacrificed it all for me." As usual at any display of kindness directed towards her Weiss choked up.

Ruby kissed her quickly, not caring that Winter was in the apartment. "It was nothing. Now you better go and get dressed unless you plan on going out like that."

Weiss almost seemed to have forgotten that she was still wearing a bathrobe. "I guess you're right. And it might actually be beneficial. Winter will know a lot more about the current fashion trends than I do. Together we'll make you look stunning."

* * *

 

Ruby grunted and through the pain and seriously considered aborting the entire idea of going to a ball. Shopping for clothes wasn't her idea of an afternoon well spent at the best of times, but shopping for a formal gown was an entirely different animal all together.

To start with on the car journey into Atlas' upper class commercial district she'd had to listen to Weiss and Winter talk  _business_. That was more or less all she could make of it. The pair of them spoke in staggeringly complex mix of acronyms, to such an extent only one word out of three seemed to be English.

As much as she'd wanted to give Weiss and Winter an opportunity to talk to each other, their jobs hadn't been what she had planned. It was only when Weiss spotted her staring out the window with unfocused eyes that she steered the topic onto something that Ruby could contribute to.

Whenever they'd gone shopping back in Vale, it had always slightly shocked her just how differently Weiss was treated to normal customers. The moment she stepped into the store staff would descend on her, catering to her every whim. Weiss always took it into her stride, but it had always made Ruby uncomfortable. However that was nothing compared to just how everyone reacted when they spotted not just one but both of the Schnee daughters.

Normally the collective will of the crowd seemed to subtly create a pocket of space around Weiss, but today people visibly stumbled out of the way. Of course the iron glares of Winter's two bodyguards might have helped. They weren't particularly subtle about showing their displeasure to anyone who didn't move from their path quickly enough.

Trailing in Winter's wake and walking next to Weiss, Ruby didn't quite know how Weiss managed to cope with everyone watching her all the time. She felt like hiding. Half the people around them seemed to stop and stare at her and some even took pictures. Due to the Vytal Tournament in Vale she'd been a minor celebrity but it had been nothing like this.

It was a relief when the shop came into view and for a moment, she forgot about the gawkers all around. The large spotless windows displayed dummies posed in majestic ball gowns. Even for someone not all that concerned with the nuances of fashion Ruby had to admit they looked fabulous with their tight waists and tapering, bell-like skirts. The store was a lot bigger than one might have thought for such a niche store, but with most of the nobles attending balls every week it got plenty of business.

The moment they'd stepped through the doors held open by the two bodyguards the staff of the store had sprung into action. The man she'd guessed was the manager had immediately approached them, bowed deeply, and escorted them around the store offering his personal commentary.

The look he'd given her had made her even more uncomfortable. It hadn't been mean, he sounded pleasant enough, but it was the sort of look a Beowolf gave before it tried to eat her. To him she was obviously a delicious morsel.

For the most part she stayed silent and just observed her surroundings as Winter and Weiss conversed about fashion. Rather than racks and racks of clothes and bright lights as was normal, the illumination was much subtler, the soft bulbs providing a similar glow to what might have been expected at the balls. And as for the dresses they were all on mannequins shaped much more generously than her own figure; and most also had books full of colourful materials next to them. It had been her assumption that she'd leave today with a dress, but as the manager explained ̶ ̶ she was sure it was for her benefit given that both Weiss and Winter seemed to know him ̶ ̶ she'd pick a design and material and then her dress would be handmade.

It was so different to her usual shopping and that was before she'd started to try the dress on. It turned out that the dresses were a lot more complicated than she'd thought possible. They had layers upon layers of skirts and what seemed like hundreds of individual cords.

In all honesty she had no idea how getting dressed could be a two person job, but these gowns made it one. It was a good thing that she'd been wearing some of her less embarrassing underwear but her cheeks had still heated when the assistant told her to strip. It didn't really help that she was a couple of years older and, like seemingly everyone else Ruby met, beautiful.

It had taken them perhaps twenty five minutes to get her into the first dress, mainly because Hazel had patiently explained every step. The quality of the material was simply incredible. It was so soft that if not for the fairly considerable weight it would have been hard to tell she was wearing anything at all. Luckily there weren't any price tags anywhere and Ruby resolved not to ask. Some things were better left unknown.

By the time Hazel had finished flitting around her and approached with a matching pair of heels she'd begun to get bored and had started fidgeting. It wasn't that she'd hated the experience, it was more that she found it incongruous that getting dressed could take that long.

When instructed she'd tottered over towards the door. The lady stilts were only part of the problem, the bulky garments were incredibly uncomfortable to such an extent she'd doubted that she would ever be able get use to them.

The dress pulled tightly at her waist and chest then fell to the floor with several layers of ruffled fabric making it extremely difficult to walk. Combined with the heels she'd actually tripped and only Hazel's quick reactions had managed to save her from the embarrassment. And the worst thing about it was despite its bulk she felt as if she were somehow exposed by the tightness around the chest, not to mention how the neckline plunged downwards. It only emphasised just how plain she really was.

Hazel had pushed her out to where Winter and Weiss were waiting. They'd been deep in conversation and had taken a moment to notice her, but when they did the smile that lit up Weiss' face made her consider that perhaps she hadn't looked as bad as she'd expected.

She'd been happy until she'd managed to drag her gaze away from Weiss' somewhat stunned eyes and met Winter's. If she'd felt like a huntress under a Beowolf's stare when the manager looked at her, Winter made her feel like a rabbit.

Winter had immediately waved him over and started listing at least two dozen problems she saw with the dress. The manager had in turn sent his employees scurrying around to find other gowns that suited her requirements. Weiss had then offered her own suggestions and before she knew it Hazel whisked her away and after less than three minutes in it, set about the gargantuan task of taking the gown off.

After the second or third dress ̶ ̶ all of which in her opinion looked fine ̶ ̶ Ruby started to feel just like one of the mannequins. Hazel would dress her as she stood more or less immobile, then prod her towards Weiss and Winter who would talk about improvements almost as if she wasn't there, before another dress would arrive and the process would begin again.

The worst was when she spent what felt like an age struggling into a dress which was made for someone a lot slimmer than her, only to have Winter send her to get changed in an instant. Even if this wasn't exactly an experience she'd like to repeat every day, it was worth it to just to see Weiss beaming now she'd finally found something in common with her sister that wasn't work related.

That the focus of their joint attention was her was something she'd preferred if it were otherwise. Weiss might have been a fussy shopper but Winter was meticulous to an absolute fault. It was her will that had made Ruby try on so many dresses they were blurring together in her mind, but gradually Winter was closing in on what she considered was the perfect dress for her.

Which led Ruby back to the present, her memories proving a poor distraction from the attack her body was currently sustaining. She grunted again and tried to breathe. Her mind came up blank as it tried to fathom the reason for why Hazel was currently attempting to kill her. If she'd insulted Hazel's first born then maybe that might have been justification, but that was pushing it.

Hazel must secretly loathe her. That was the only thing she could think of as another string on her corset was pulled tight, taking another fraction of an inch out of her waist and eliciting another groan.

Ruby knew corsets. A lot of her outfits contained them, but they were garments of clothing, not instruments of torture. Hers didn't have the rigid bones in the sides or went tight enough to seriously inhibit her breathing. It had to be a joke. No one could be expected to take a step with their lungs this constricted, let alone dance, Hazel was playing a trick on her, she had to be.

But Hazel didn't stop and laugh, gradually she pulled the corset tighter and tighter until her grunts of exertion joined Ruby's. The corset felt like it was about to meet in her middle; she wouldn't have been all that surprised to see Hazel use her legs to provide leverage. Whatever the case, Hazel must hit the gym or something, because she was a lot stronger than she looked.

After a few more excruciating minutes Hazel tied off the cords, draped a blue shawl over her bare shoulders, and approached with the outfit's shoes. "Do you want help putting them on?"

Ruby nodded, it was the best answer she could manage. Every one of her breaths only half satisfied the burning need in her chest and it would have been close to impossible for her to even bend half way down. Why women were expected to curtsey with a straight back rather than bow suddenly made a lot of sense.

This time rather than push her straight out Hazel whipped the cover off of the mirror and Ruby's mouth fell open. The girl reflected in the shimmering portal was a strange, foreign creature and couldn't have possibly been her.

It took a moment to process and even longer to decide that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. It really was her dressed in the gown. A simple garment shouldn't have been able to make that much of a difference but it did.

The light blue dress, with its white ruffles and lace, matched the sapphire barrettes in her hair. Her head was the only part of her that she recognised and even then the jewellery seemed to make even her low maintenance haircut look more elegant.

As much as she thought the corset would kill it her, the way it altered her figure was undeniable. Her waist tapered in to such a degree that she had curves she'd never imagined possible. Combined with the plunging neckline it even gave the impression of a deep cleavage that in reality she just didn't have.

Ruby swallowed, dare she say it, she looked… beautiful. It wasn't a word she associated with herself at all. She was a scruffy girl, half the time she forgot to wash her face in the morning. Beauty just wasn't a word meant for her… and yet she did look beautiful.

Was that all it took? An expensive dress, several helpers, and copious amounts of time? Of course she didn't compare to Weiss or Winter even in their more casual clothes, but she'd never expected to. Her biggest fear before today had been that she would look too plain and too young, but she didn't. The necklace with gemstones she didn't know the name of drew attention to her silver eyes, and as part of the whole she looked like she belonged. The gown had somehow transformed her into someone who could have been an Atlesian noblewoman.

Hazel was obviously pleased with her work. "You look fantastic. Now come on don't you want to show your friends?"

Ruby nodded speechlessly and carefully made her way over to the door of the fitting room, her mind still trying to comprehend what she'd seen. Winter and Weiss both rose when she appeared, exchanging a glance and a smile before coming over to her.

"Ruby you look incredible." Weiss' voice conveyed the feelings she couldn't say in such public company.

Ruby nodded, incredibly she felt it.  _Was this what it was like for beautiful people all the time_? The rest of the staff were wondering over and whispering appreciatively to each other. Most times she hated being the centre of attention, but at this precise moment it made her heart swell with pride. They were complimenting her.

Even Winter seemed impressed, though she may have been more pleased with her own handiwork in the transformation than the end result. "Well I think the Lavens will have to prepare for a stampede of male suitors when you arrive."

Ruby failed to deduce exactly what emotion flashed across Weiss' face but she could guess. If it were up to her, she'd only dance with one person for the entire night. That was of course if she could ever work out how to move more than a few feet with getting light headed. The lack of breath due to the corset was likely only exacerbating her euphoria.

"Make the alterations and have it sent to the penthouse of our hotel. She'll need it before next week." Winter said to the manager before turning towards Weiss and Ruby. "Do you two want to perhaps share a meal? We haven't had much time to talk today Ruby."

"Sure," Ruby couldn't help but think that just like Weiss, behind her frosty exterior, all Winter wanted was for someone to treat her just as her.

* * *

 

This time Ruby managed to hold in the burp that was threatening to escape her. Before she'd had the rest of her team to save her from Weiss if her girlfriend tried to kill her, but now she was outnumbered two to one. Judging by her observations in the meal, Winter had perfected the art of eating just as much as Weiss had. Not a single crumb had gone somewhere she hadn't intended.

Ruby very much doubted that Winter would be any less mortified than her sister at such a breach of etiquette and she'd been on her best behaviour for the entire time. With how much Winter and Weiss seemed to be enjoying each other's company she simply didn't want to jeopardise that.

Of course the restaurant was hideously expensive and amazingly, even though they hadn't had a reservation Winter had managed with a word in the ear of the waiter to procure them a room to themselves.

Even if she'd tried to follow Weiss in only taking small bites, there were some things she simply didn't have the willpower for. Every guilty mouthful was accompanied by a promise of an extra session in the gym, but it didn't stop her.

For the most part she'd eaten in silence as Weiss and Winter had gone back to discussing business. Even if she was jealous that Winter could converse with Weiss so completely in a topic she was clueless about, she was glad Weiss was connecting with her sister. But with the departure of the deserts and the arrival of coffee, Winter's calculating gaze met hers.

"So are you looking forward to attending your first ball?"

"Uhh… yeah it should be fun." Despite their time together recently there was just something about Winter's attention that made her lose her train of thought.

Winter smirked. "Fun? I didn't know you enjoyed the game."

"She doesn't and won't be involved." Weiss cut in harshly and Ruby heard the defensiveness there.

"Now Weiss, we both know just her attending will thrust her in at the deep end. A foreigner would be enough to insight comment and that's not mentioning her low birth, but a foreigner whose partner is a Schnee? She won't have a choice."

Ruby's blood heated. Her parents may not have been able to trace their family back countless generations, but they were not  _low_. Her mum wasn't. They were good people that loved her. That was all that mattered.

Her anger must have been more visible than she thought for Winter glanced at her sister. "You see Weiss, she's unsuited for it."

"I told her she might not enjoy it, but she wants to come. I suppose you're going to try and deny her."

"Not at all. I want her there." Winter swirled her coffee.

"What?" Ruby couldn't help herself. Her mind had been heading in the opposite direction, the one in which she'd have to fight tooth and nail to attend.

"I'm guessing here, but judging by your attitude you want to go with Weiss to help her. What if I told you that it was possible to help her in a much more significant way?"

"No," Weiss glared at her sister the good will of the day evaporating.

"Don't you think we should let Ruby decide?"

"No."

"Decide what?" Ruby was at a loss to just what Winter was suggesting. If it would help her why was Weiss opposing it?

"She wants to throw you to the Beowolves."

"I want to give you a chance to help us, but it seems Weiss doesn't believe in you."

"Of course I do," Weiss said indignantly shooting Winter daggers, knowing her sister was playing her. "But you can't expect someone as unexperienced as her to do what you're suggesting."

"Do what?" Ruby reined in her raised voice, but she just wanted to know what they were talking about.

Winter spoke first. "Ruby you have two options. You can go to the balls as planned and I'm sure Weiss will enjoy having you there, but apart from that you won't help her in any way. Or you can play the game. If you attend the Laven ball alone, it's very likely many people will approach you. Most will know you were Weiss' partner at Beacon, they will know that by making friends with you, you could bring them closer to a Schnee."

Weiss retorted. "Or they'll use you to hurt me. To make a statement. To their eyes you're close enough to be a valid target but distant enough to avoid a direct retaliation. You'll be perfect."

"Exactly," Winter said. "The majority of those arrayed against us won't be able to resist the opportunity, even if it seems too good to be true. Ruby's clever enough to lead them on until we get an idea of just what they're planning. She could very well be the difference between stopping a plot before it happens or it seriously hurting us.

"Come on Weiss, you've been at the balls as well. Can you honestly sit there and say you haven't even felt the slightest inclination that something big is about to happen? Because I know I can't. I'll keep on working things on my end, but Ruby is a very unique position. She could be the key to unlocking it all."

"It's too dangerous." Weiss set her palms face down on the table, making her position clear.

"It'll be no safer for her if their plans come to fruition. Unless you send her away she'll be caught up in whatever happens anyway. This is the best course of action and you know it."

"I suppose this is the whole reason you came today!" Weiss couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice.

"How can you say that?" Winter snapped. "I didn't even know Ruby was attending the ball before today. I just wanted to spend time with you, and for the first time in weeks I had fun. But I'm not one to turn away from an opportunity."

"I'm not ̶ ̶ "

"Can you stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Ruby only just managed to stop herself from shouting. Both Weiss and Winter finally turned to face her. "I'm the one who is going to decide, not either of you two."

"Ruby," Weiss said imploringly but Ruby couldn't hand back the initiative.

"No. Winter do you honestly believe this will help you, help Weiss?"

"It will," Winter had a trace of smile on her lips at the thought of her plan coming together, but Ruby wasn't doing this for her.

She had the possibility of achieving far more than she'd ever hoped. Her knowledge of the families of Atlas was almost entirely gleaned from conversations with Weiss, but it was obvious just how much the Schnees were disliked.

If it was true only she could help Weiss in this way, then it was exactly what she'd do.

"I'll do it."

"No."

Ruby reached over the table and laid her hand on top of Weiss'. "This is my part to play. All the time I've been here this is what I've been waiting for. I can actually be useful to you."

"You are useful, don't ever tell yourself otherwise." Her self-depreciation had stirred Weiss' anger. "This is dangerous Ruby, more than you seem to realise."

"I'm up to it," the whole prospect scared her, but if it was for the benefit of one of her friends she'd put herself through almost anything; and that was doubly so for Weiss.

Ruby met Weiss' eyes with what she hoped was determination and it hurt her to see Weiss deflate. But in the end it was for her benefit and they'd come out of this all the stronger. Tonight they'd be able to talk it through in more detail, but she wouldn't change her mind.

"One more thing," Winter drew their attention back to her. She indicated their clasped hands with a wave. " _This_ cannot come out."

"What?" Weiss' act as she rapidly pulled her hand away wasn't convincing.

"Don't treat me like an idiot Weiss. It's obvious you're in a relationship. Look, I've never held your preferences against you, not like father. I won't lie and say I understand the attraction, but it's a part of you and I accept it for who you are. I'm truly glad that you've found someone who makes you so happy. But you can't announce it, not now."

"Why not?"

"You don't need to ask. Six months ago father would have ranted and raved, but he most likely wouldn't have been able to do anything. Now it would make him look weak. At a time when we just can't afford it. Everybody knows his opinion on the matter and for one of his daughters to go against him publicly would be the signal all the others are waiting for."

As she took in Winter's seriousness and Weiss' face that had transformed from anger to sadness, Ruby felt her own heart fall. Though it was apparently expected that she should at least not completely embarrass herself on the dance floor, the main reason for her lessons was so she wouldn't mortify Weiss when they danced together in front of everyone. Now it was looking like that would be denied her as well.

Winter continued. "You know he wouldn't allow that, and he wouldn't be able to weaken the family by attacking you. Ruby would disappear. That's the neatest solution. She just runs off in the night, never to be seen again."

It would have been scary enough to hear of her own demise talked about so dispassionately, but what truly scared her was Weiss' reaction. A coldness descended on Weiss, such a coldness. If it had been Yang the restaurant would have burned, but Weiss wasn't Yang. Yang's anger was loud and brash, violent and terrible to behold, Weiss' was so much worse. It lacked the passion of righteousness. Instead when Weiss spoke it was in a voice so calm and deliberate her insides twisted. It was the voice of a side of Weiss she hadn't known existed.

"I wouldn't let him."

"You'd try to stop him, there's a difference." Even Winter looked slightly uneasy by the change that had come over her sister. "You might control ADRG but just how well do you know everyone there? How many would you trust to be alone with Ruby? Father may not be likeable, but when it comes down to it, he's the one who pays their salaries."

_What was ADRG_? Ruby was sure she'd overheard Weiss mention it on her phone a few times, but Winter said it with such significance that the acronym had to reference something bigger than just a business term.

"Look the two of you have a choice. You can tell everyone now and none of us knows just what will happen, or you can wait and continue what you've been doing. You're not exactly inconspicuous but it's better than the alternative. I can't make you do anything. It's something you'll have to decide on your own."

Ruby looked at Weiss, the anger was still there, but anguish had joined it as well. It was obvious that Weiss was blaming herself, just like she did so often. She was thinking that if she'd been normal none of this would have been happening. They'd have been able to go on dates, kiss in public, and so much more.

But Weiss was forgetting one thing and Ruby only wanted to remind her of it. She'd fallen in love with Weiss Schnee and Weiss Schnee was worth overcoming any obstacles that were placed in their way.

If Ruby was honest with herself she would have admitted that it was disappointment that was roiling inside of her. It was hard fighting down some of the ideas that suggested themselves when they were in public, but if necessary she would keep on doing it.

"I'm sorry today had to end like this, but I had to say it." Winter said standing and straightening her dress. "I'd like to do this again some time. I've enjoyed spending time with both of you." She paused and took a step away before turning back. "And now it's out in the open, between us at least, I suppose congratulations are in order. You two really do look cute together."

With that unexpected compliment hanging in the air Winter swept off, already pulling her phone out of her bag. In spite of herself Ruby smiled. Maybe Winter wasn't so cold after all.

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

"So when are we meeting the contact?" Blake asked in-between mouthfuls of the last of their travel rations.

"Three," Coco said grumpily. Their team leader wasn't in a particularly good mood. None of them had brought any coffee with them ̶ ̶ entrusting the sacred task to others and leaving it in their bags back in the tunnels ̶ ̶ and they were all suffering the consequences of the lack of caffeine.

Of course, with their apartment being in the middle of Vale normally it wouldn't have been difficult to procure some even this early in the morning. But the situation wasn't normal. None of them wanted to risk venturing out until they could get lost in the crowds and understand the situation better whilst minimising the risk.

Yang wasn't doing much better than Coco, her head was pillowed on her arms at the table as she chewed laboriously. None of them had got much sleep but for Yang and Blake it was worse. There were only two bedrooms and naturally that meant they had to share.

It was ok for Coco and Velvet. They were in a relationship. Blake didn't quite know what she and Yang were. Since that night they hadn't so much as kissed, but it didn't stop her thinking about just what would happen if she relaxed some of the constraints on her end.

They'd even spent a few nights in the same bed when Yang was feeling particularly troubled and didn't trust herself. But the huge beds in Atlas were a far cry from the bed that was barely larger than a single.

Two tall teenagers simply didn't fit. Every time one of them had moved they'd ended up disturbing the other. A brush of a knee on a thigh, a ghost of a touch on a shoulder, the caress of a neck with a breath. All the little interruptions as she'd tried to drift off had made Blake notice the warmth flaring in her core.

Despite how bad the blood and guts of the Grimm had made Yang smell ̶ ̶ even multiple shower hadn't made her able to completely rid the stench from her sensitive nose ̶ ̶ Yang's musk still called out to Blake's primal side. If her self-control hadn't be honed by countless hours of mental exercise it might have been too much. As it was she'd spent much of the night awake, aching, and listening to Yang's snores reverberate around the small room.

It had been almost a blessing when the first sliver of light had penetrated the thin curtains and illuminated the dark stain of mould in the corner of the room. Despite only managing a few hours of sleep she'd risen, showered again to try and wake herself up and relieve the stiffness in some of her muscles, before getting ready for a nice cup of coffee. That was of course when she'd made the horrific discovery.

"Right, that's it. We've waited long enough." Coco stood up quickly enough to knock her chair over. "Let's go and explore."

Blake swallowed her mouthful that she hadn't fully finished chewing. "Sure, it's eight thirty, people must be up. Everyone agreed?"

Yang murmured something unintelligible and Velvet nodded. The adrenaline pouring into her blood stream due to the possibility of danger was helping Blake wake up more than even caffeine could. "So how are we doing this?"

"We'll go together," Coco said firmly. "I'm not letting you two go alone, especially when you can't easily conceal your weapons and not when we don't know just what we'll find. There are some shops not too far from here, or at least there used to be. We should start there and then keep going once we've got a better idea on just what the White Fang have been doing."

Despite how great a leader Ruby had turned out to be, Blake found herself comparing her to Coco. Unless they needed decisions immediately Ruby normally formulated her plans by asking all her teammates and combining their ideas. The difference in age and experience with Coco showed. Coco acted decisively, and though she looked for other's opinions she trusted her own judgement implicitly.

In such uncertain circumstances and with the threat of discovery by one of her former colleagues continuing to twist her insides, it was reassuring to have someone so in control. If Coco wasn't their leader it would have been very tempting to just to stay even in the illusory safety provided by the apartment. Now that she was here back in Vale and had seen the dreadful plight the city was in the previous night, she felt obliged to do her duty to try to help the people who were trapped here.

The hot humid air that hit them the moment they opened the door was so strange. For Vale the temperature was such that it would have been pleasant to spend a day sitting in the park. But after so long spent in Atlas it was sweltering; the first drops of sweat began to gather on Blake's forehead.

Despite the discomfort she still preferred it to the alternative; the weather in Atlas was depressing. To wake up day after day to a canopy of grey clouds that the sun could only break through on occasion? It had certainly contributed to some of the darker moods that had come over her.

Vale was better, or at least the weather was. They started down the quiet street, pausing for a moment to let the warm sunlight caress their skin and lift the pall laid upon them by the lack of sleep. But the one feeling Blake wasn't used to was the sun brushing the fur of her ears.

The day before she'd set aside her bow for the first time in weeks, but most of their walking had been down beneath the canopy of the forest. In the middle of Vale to not have them confined was both strange and a little scary.

No matter what she'd been told, hiding her ears had always made her feel safer. It removed one variable from her all too complicated life. With them hidden she hadn't had to worry about discrimination like so many did. Now supposedly she didn't either, but she'd still subconsciously reached for her bow while getting dressed.

As they reached the end of the street hers and Velvet's ears began to twitch. They could both pick out a commotion up ahead. People were shouting, their voices blending together until it was just a cacophony of noise and they tensed. The change was picked up by their teammates.

"What is it?" Yang asked cocking her arms and causing a bracelet hidden by her shirt sleeve to become visible.

"I'm not sure. Something's happening that way. Velvet can you pick anything out?" Blake said well aware Velvet's hearing would be better than hers.

"No it's just loud, and strange… it almost reminds me of something but I can't figure out what."

"Keep an ear out you two, let's go and find out." Coco strode into the lead, her purse in hand.

With her two teammates priming their weapons Blake was very aware of the lack of her own; she wished she'd considered concealability when designing it. Without its comforting weight all she had to protect herself were the various knives she'd secreted about her body. They weren't big and wouldn't do a lot of damage, but in a close fight they might prove the difference.

As far as she could see Velvet was unarmed too, though it was hard to tell if that was the cause for her nerves. Like it so often did Velvet's body was quivering and her head was scanning back and forth as if she was expecting an attack.

It couldn't have been easy being back in her home. The rest of them had only resided in Vale for a short time. This city had been Velvet's entire life. Everywhere they looked they saw scars that were a constant reminder of just what had happened.

Rounding a corner they came upon a main street. For the first time since leaving their apartment they encountered other residents. A nearby Faunus man glanced at them as they appeared but evidentially didn't see anything amiss about their group; he just kept walking towards the noise.

Blake watched his back. His demeanour was wrong… or maybe it was right? As a member of the White Fang she'd been an outsider; she had spent a lot time observing her fellow Faunus. The things Adam had pointed out to her had only given her more reasons to loathe society.

The majority of Faunus, the ones who hadn't managed to rise above the circumstance of their birth hammering down on their dreams, walked differently. They kept themselves small, hunching their shoulders and keeping their arms tucked in, trying to avoid the attention of any human and the trouble that invariably followed it.

The ones who worked in the factories or the mines, those who returned to the tenements that were little better than slums, had by the large been broken. They understood that society was not meant for them and would never make trouble for their oppressors. They just wanted to get on with their lives as quietly as possible; the easiest way to do that was to attempt to escape notice.

Those Faunus would not have met the eyes of two humans. They would have likely stepped out of the way and given the humans lots of space. But the man hadn't. He'd walked towards them with a straight spine and square shoulders that were unbent by the weight of the world. He'd met all their eyes and there had even been the hint of a smile behind his weatherworn face.

Now she was looking for it his liberated manner was shared by all the Faunus on the street. It appeared that they at least were happy with their improved situation. It gave her pause for thought.

As they approached the noise, it became more distinct; she was sure by now that the other two could hear it as well. Blake pushed Yang's arm back down to her side as they arrived at their destination.

Coco had chosen this street because it had been the place to go if you needed a few general supplies but wanted to avoid the crowds that congregated downtown. That had changed. The quiet cobble paved street bustled with activity. The road had been closed off and thronged with hundreds of people who were all shopping at the dozens of small stalls that had been set up.

Apart from in special circumstances like the Vytal Festival market stalls were not permitted. In a city as densely packed as Vale, stalls only cluttered up the streets and made them almost impassable. Or at least that was the reason the government had given. She wasn't too sure if it was the whole truth.

Stores in buildings were good for traffic management, but they were also expensive. The cost of rental put them well out of the reach for any enterprising Faunus. Even if they had the best products around they would be unable to sell them legally. If there were stalls where the rental was cheaper they might have been able to save up enough to rent one for a day and use the profits to pay for the next, working their way up until they had enough for an actual store.

As her parents had found out, the world was not forgiving of a Faunus who made something of themselves. Her kind faced hurdles at every turn and the laws governing retail was just another one. But no longer is seemed.

The crowds weren't silent, but it was the Faunus shopkeepers that were making most of the racket, crying the advantages of their wares into the air. Some were just selling items on a table covered by a cloth, but the pride they had in their shop was obvious for all to see.

A grizzled bear Faunus draped with scars that indicated long years spent doing hard and dangerous labour, was kneeling next to his table where a puppet was dancing to the delight of the children who gathered around it. His huge hands dwarfed the creations on display but as he brought a second puppet into the impromptu show and they twirled intricately together, it was clear they were his creations.

Blake reached over the heads of the children and picked one up. It was a fantastically delicate representation of a small boy, complete with minute canine ears on atop his head. The wood was not of good quality. It had not been harvested from deep within the jungles of Vacuo but was instead likely scrap that had been carefully whittled down.

The skill involved in the creation was staggering. If it had been carved by a human it was likely it would have sold for hundreds of lien, but instead someone capable of crafting such a thing had likely spent his life in the mines or factories of Remnant. It was such a colossal waste.

Blake was brought out of her contemplation by all the children giggling and clapping. "Do you see anything that interests you miss?" The owner of the stall spoke to her, his voice was deep and hoarse, almost as if he'd inhaled too many toxic fumes.

She hastily returned the puppet to its place on the table. "No I was just looking."

"Well you have good taste, I only finished him yesterday." He smiled and took up the strings, the boy came alive. He raised a hand to his mouth as if stifling a yawn before sitting up and looking round. "I'm not sure what he's called yet," he said as the puppet climbed to his feet, shaking the fatigue out of his muscles. "Do you have any ideas?"

Blake watched the boy take his first few steps and shook her head.

"Do you want him?"

Blake was pulled from her trance. "Uhh… no thanks."

"It doesn't matter if you don't have much money, none of us do really. Take it," the man scooped the boy up and offered it to her.

"I couldn't," Blake said.

"It would be a gift. I get the enjoyment from the carving. I saw how you were looking at it, it brightened your day. We all need that now and again. Just do something nice for someone else today. We all need to stick together."

His smile of kindness continued to drill into her until it was too much. She shook her head backing away muttering "I'm sorry." She roughly pushed her way through the people gathering around the stall in her haste to withdraw.

It was too much. The stall owner was happy. He was willing to part with the creation that must have taken him dozens of hours to complete all because it  _brightened her day_. As she continued to push into the crowd, she couldn't blot out what she was seeing all around her. Everyone was happy.

They were laughing, talking, buying and selling, in a sea of bright colours unlike the muted clothes that the Faunus normally wore. The things they'd seen when they entered the city, the broken factories and dilapidated warehouses had not told them the whole picture.

They hadn't been repaired because they were no longer needed. The Faunus who had worked in them were now able to fulfil their own dreams, whether it was carving puppets, selling fruit, or even playing lilting tunes on some sea pipes.

Her parents had worked so hard and so long to try and elevate the Faunus from third class citizens, but the White Fang under Adam had actually done it. How many of these laughing children would have been destined for the sweat shops if Vale had not been attacked? How many of their lives would have been snuffed out prematurely due to an industrial accident? An accident which would have been brushed under the carpet.

They'd been given the chance her own parents had given her. The chance to make something of their lives. Was that so wrong?

And the entire reason why she was back in Vale was to enslave them all again. To return them to their rightful place under the boot of the humans. It was obvious that was what would happen if she facilitated the reinvasion of Vale. All the refugees would be able to return home, the White Fang would get their comeuppance, and all the people around her, the kindly merchant, the children, would suffer for it.

Bile rose to her mouth as she gagged at the enormity of it all. She wished her mum and dad were here. They'd be able to tell her what to do, what path was the right one. But they'd been killed by the human racism that she was fighting to re-establish.  _Was she betraying their memory as well?_

In her haste to get away from the guilt the shop keeper had foisted upon her, she'd pushed her way into the middle of the crowd. As she tried to move and couldn't, panicked surfaced. Her arms were trapped to her sides by the throng and her breaths began to come in short, sharp bursts.

With increasing desperation she tried to fight her way free. To do what she had been unable to do back when she was just a child. But every time she managed to desperately barge her way past one person she found the way beyond them blocked as well.

She swayed on her feet, her head becoming light at the lack of oxygen and inside of her she grasped at her Semblance, it was the only way. Just as she primed it, a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Blake, why'd you run…" Yang trailed off as her eyes took in Blake's shaking body.

It took Yang a moment to process, behind her sunglasses her eyes flicked in between Blake's face and the people all around. It might have been the worst thing to do in the circumstance but Yang stepped closer, it was just how she comforted people. "I'm going to get you out of here."

As Yang's strong arm pulled her tight, Blake bucked for a moment before the natural warmth overcame her. With Yang there she was safe. Yang wouldn't let anything happen to her. Yang wouldn't let her get crushed to death.

Blake was more or less oblivious of Yang's  _Pardons_ and  _Sorrys_ as she forced her way through the crowd, making use of her extra weight. Instead Blake closed her eyes and just concentrated on the contact, trying desperately to imagine she was anywhere but here. The terror of being in a bustling crowd was far more pronounced than even the fear of combat, for its roots were seated far deeper.

"Blake we're ok, you're ok." Yang said quietly, her lips right next to her partner's ear.

Blake cracked her eyelids open, they were standing in an alley off the main street and though she could still hear the bustle of the crowd it was muted here. As her panic began to subside she burst into tears. She couldn't help it. The enormity of the change in the people who lived here, just what she was here to do, and the fear of the crowd overwhelmed her emotional barriers and the flood was let loose.

"It's ok, it's ok." Yang pulled her into an embrace, making soft comforting sounds while cradling the back of Blake's head as it was pressed against her shoulder.

When Blake finally managed to push everything that had surfaced back down inside of her and regained control she wiped her eyes embarrassedly. "Sorry."

"Blake it's fine. After what you told me I understand. It's nothing to be ashamed by."

Blake pulled away from her. "It's not just that, Yang. Look at them, how do they seem?" she pointed back at the street.

"I dunno."

"Yang they're happy and we're here to tear everything they've built down."

Yang's face twisted in surprise. "Wait, are you agreeing with the White Fang?" her voice smouldered with anger.

"Of course not," her own voice rose in response. "What they did was deplorable, but what they've done, that out there, isn't. One can't exist without the other."

"You don't know that."

"You don't know what it's like to live as an outcast in your own home! If we bring down the White Fang everything will be returned to just how it was and all those Faunus will have their hope of a better life extinguished," Blake almost shouted.

"Keep your voice down," Yang hissed dragging her further into the alley. "You're right I don't know what it's like to be a Faunus, but I do know I can't let the murderous bastards who rule here go unpunished. I can't forget all those I failed to save."

"I can't either, it's just…" Blake trailed off, unable to convey her thoughts on the matter.

She wanted to stop the White Fang, she wanted to appease Cardin's ghost and all the other spectres that undoubtedly wandered these streets. That was her duty. But the oaths she swore when she started her new life told her to protect the innocent. All these Faunus were innocent and her actions would hurt them.

If only she was smart enough to think of a way to do both. To stop the White Fang while maintaining the positive things they'd established. But such a way didn't exist in this world. The only reason the Faunus were being allowed to thrive here was because of the strength of their rulers. When that pillar was removed, the whole thing would come crashing down.

And she would have betrayed her race twice over.

"Look Blake maybe we can work something out. We won't know what we're meant to be doing here until we meet our contact later. Maybe when we get the word out people won't lump all the Faunus who live here in with the White Fang. But you need to worry about yourself. You can't just run off like that, not when all it would take would be one person recognising you." Yang gripped her by both shoulders. "You scared me when I noticed you were gone."

Blake bowed her head. Once again Yang was highlighting all of her faults. It had been stupid to run off, but she'd just been too overwhelmed. They hadn't even been back here a day and she'd almost gotten all of her friends killed. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok there's no harm done. We're just going to have to get used to this. Now Coco and Velvet are probably worrying, come on." Yang grasped her hand and led her back towards the street.

As they neared the bustle Blake clamped down on her rising panic, instead concentrating on the warmth of Yang's palm against her own sweating one. She could do this. It was a wide road, and there weren't that many people anyway, not really.

But even as Blake was bracing herself, Yang didn't push into the crowd. Instead they stayed on its fringes, Yang going up on her tiptoes to search over all the heads. Blake tried her best not to look. At this precise moment she couldn't face seeing all the joy around her. To see the Faunus living like they should have been allowed to all this time. Instead she stared at her own feet and closed her ears as much as she were able.

After about ten minutes of searching, Yang waved and a few seconds later Coco and Velvet slipped free from the crowd, both carrying bulging bags.

"Hey," Coco said, "Where'd you guys get to?"

"We were just looking around," Yang answered nonchalantly. "What did you buy?"

"Food mainly, there's lots of fresh stuff. I guess the harvest is coming in. And coffee of course. Most of it was super cheap. We should definitely have enough money to keep us fed at least. Oh and Velvet also brought you some more hair dye, it should match." Coco gestured towards the cap that was covering Yang's blonde roots.

"Thanks." Yang combed her fingers through her ponytail. "Do you want to drop that stuff back at the apartment?"

"Yeah, although we may as well take the scenic route, see what else is happening here. It isn't exactly what I was expecting."

They split the bags more evenly between them and began to walk back. As they cleared the crowds attending the market, the fog that had been coiling around Blake's mind began to lift. Sometimes crowds didn't cause that reaction. As long as there was a bit of space to breathe she was fine, but when they were as dense as this one had been, her normal control just slipped away.

On the more open streets she filled her lungs completely, savouring the fresh salt air that had blown in off the sea, and trying not to think too much. Around here there were more signs of repairs, by far the largest casualty of the running battles that had taken place throughout the city in terms of property damage had been windows.

The shockwaves from the countless numbers of explosions had shattered them in their frames with only the smallest surviving. Blake supposed that was why the windows on their apartment were still in one piece. The majority had been boarded up with wood. As they passed one Faunus who had likely taken possession of an actual brick and mortar shop was manoeuvring a pane of glass into place.

There was very little traffic even on the roads that were open. Without any imports by the SDC Dust must have been in short supply. So far they'd had power in their apartment, but it likely wouldn't be long until the shortages forced the White Fang to make use of rolling blackouts. Even with all the Dust they had stolen over the past few months, the supply wasn't infinite.

Coco led them along a street that had previously been filled by picturesque cafés and restaurants. The majority had their doors open and the tables outside in the sunshine were filled with people.

Without the factories it appeared that most had more free time on their hands than they would have had otherwise. Judging by the number of children, the school system had yet to be re-established.

Obviously not wanting to wait for her coffee any longer, Coco led them over to a table and deposited her bags down. As she turned round Coco missed the dark look from the thickset man behind her, but Blake didn't.

"Can you smell that?" Metal chairs scraped on concrete as he and the rest of his table rose.

They were all big, muscles bulging from their tight clothes, and they were all armed with various blades or firearms. They didn't look like hunters, but what drew Blake's attention most of all were the white armbands with a red skull and slashes emblazoned on them.

She didn't recognise any of them. Judging by their stance as they squared off they didn't seem to be all that experienced at combat, but they more than made up for it in pure bulk. They were all at least a head taller than Coco and almost twice as wide.

"Sorry can I help you?" Coco had turned back around.

"You can leave now. Your kind don't eat here," the Faunus leader growled.

"Excuse me?" Coco said indignation entering her tone.

"Are you stupid? I said go."

"Come on, let's get out of here," Velvet tugged on Coco's sleeve.

"What are you doing with this filth?" The man turned his ire on Velvet. "You make me sick."

If the insults had only been directed at her there would have been a chance that Coco could have swallowed her pride. But as she had done so often she went to the defence of her timid partner, squaring up against their aggressor.

That hint of resistance gave the man the excuse he was looking for. His punch was quick and sloppy. Though it lacked any real power, it still should have hurt and he knew it. So his surprise was obvious when Coco absorbed the punch to her jaw with only the slightest turn of her head to show for it.

His eyes widened and his face turned red; whether it was in anger or in embarrassment, Blake couldn't tell. He snarled and threw another punch, a looping swing of a meaty fist that travelled laboriously through the air, before slamming into Coco's ribs.

This time her breath left her lungs in a rush and she sank down to the floor coughing, only to receive a kick to the stomach.

"Stop!" Velvet threw herself between them and a second kick connected with her instead.

Through the hand that was clamped onto Yang's wrist, Blake could feel her partner's rage. It was a rage that was mirrored in her own heart. After all the goodness she'd seen earlier, this is what the outside world would see.

Brutality at the hands of the White Fang. It didn't matter that this scene had been repeated countless thousands of times in reverse, with a Faunus lying on the ground at the hands of a human, it would only provide more justification to the stigma the Faunus found themselves under.

The group wearing the armbands likely had only joined in the wake of the  _liberation._  The technique behind the punches had been poor. The first one had lacked power and the second had come so slowly Coco could have brewed a pot of coffee in the time it took to connect.

That was the only reason she was restraining Yang and not wading in herself. The first punch had obviously been unexpected enough that Coco had instinctively flared her Aura to absorb it, but instead of going on the attack or getting out of the way, she'd allowed the second to land without her Aura to protect her.

It was the sensible thing to do. Even outnumbered two to one it would take them seconds at most to beat the White Fang members, but that would entirely blow their cover. As Coco had obviously decided, it was better to try and disengage from this situation as quickly as possible without causing any more of a scene.

Having kicked another Faunus the man hesitated before looking back at his fellows. Seeing the appreciative grins of satisfaction there he puffed out his chest.

"That's what you get for speaking back to your betters." Velvet might have stopped him kicking Coco, but she wasn't able to stop him spitting in Coco's hair. "If I see you again you'll get a lot worse. Now get the fuck out of here."

As Coco struggled to her feet and Yang went to help her, the thug turned his glare on Blake and Velvet. "And I better not catch you with humans again. If I do you'll see what happens to traitors."

Blake picked up the bags by the table and followed Coco as she hobbled away, thinking fervently about everything she'd like to do if she met him again. Coco obviously shared that thought for the moment they rounded a corner she straightened up, all her apparent injuries forgotten, and swore profusely.

"Fucking dick! If I see you again I'll show you how not to punch like a five year old." She tried her best to wipe the phlegm out of her hair with a tissue.

"Are you ok?" Velvet asked looking intently at Coco's jaw.

"Of course I am," Coco threw the soiled tissue on the floor. "Thanks for intervening though. Someone like that would take it too far. He wouldn't have known when to stop, and it would have completely exposed us. If the White Fang are putting a racist shit like that in a position of authority it's going to be much harder for us to move around."

"Did you see the rest of the people there though? They were scared," Blake said. Thinking back to how the Faunus eating there had not joined in, but had not been brave enough to interfere either. In the presence of those who would call themselves their saviours, they had reverted back to attempting to look unimportant enough to be overlooked.

"What else did you expect? There was no way a terrorist organisation would be able to rule through anything other than fear."

"He was a thug though, not like some of the other White Fang I've kn… fought before. Someone like that is going to keep the population passive while the rest can concentrate on consolidating their position. Or they're going to stir up enough trouble that the White Fang leadership gets tired of them." Thankfully her slip up seemed to go unnoticed.

"Yes, in the end they could be an asset for us. But if the rest of the White Fang enforcers are like that Vale is really not a nice place to be human." Coco turned away and swore again, this time in frustration. "Damn it. I almost blew it within a few hours. I put all of you in danger. I've got to remember I'm not in Atlas anymore. I've got to keep my head down."

"It's not your fault. I would have decked him if Blake hadn't stopped me," Yang said consolingly. "You did well all things considered. We're all going to have to adapt, and at least they didn't recognise us. All this seems to be working." She waved a hand at their changed appearances.

"That's something I suppose, but undoubtedly they weren't the sharpest blades in the sheath. We've still got to be more careful. Now come on let's just get back to the apartment. I want some coffee, and then I want to stake out where we're supposed to be meeting the contact."

* * *

 

Blake scanned around as she walked forward attempting to spot anything out of the ordinary. Of course if none of them had during the last two hours of observation, it was unlikely that she would as she entered the square.

It was one of Vale's larger ones. There were enough people milling around that she didn't stand out, but not too many that the crowd would cause difficulties. It was the sort of place she'd have chosen for a meet, and at least gave her confidence that their contact knew what they were doing.

A lot of people would have thought the best place for subterfuge would have been a dark alley in the depths of night. True it was unlikely that you'd be discovered, but all it would take is one person walking along the street and your cover would be blown. Here she and Yang were just out for a walk in the sun, and if anything went wrong they could continue on their way.

It was just her and Yang though. Nominally they were the close quarter fighters of their team and they'd volunteered to go down into the square. Ember Celica was locked and loaded and Gambol Shroud was knocking against her leg with every step from where it was concealed inside a sports bag.

It was a risk bringing it, but if things went south and they had to fight their way out she would need it. At least until the rest of her teammates joined the fray. Coco and Velvet were on a rooftop overlooking the square and undoubtedly Velvet was preparing to do something utterly terrifying to extract them if the need occurred.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that though, they'd been as careful as it was possible to be. They'd spent the last couple of hours just watching, waiting to see if there were any hints this was a trap. They were satisfied that if it was the White Fang operatives were a lot better than them. As the designated time had approached they'd finally gone down.

"I've still got nothing." Coco's voice crackled in her ear over the radio. The receiver was a tiny thing barely bigger than her little fingernail and it was nearly invisible when fitted into her ear canal.

Blake nodded well aware Coco would see. They were five minutes early, but it was better that than be late and miss whoever their mysterious contact was. They didn't have a name, an age, or even a sex. She thought it likely that they weren't meant to meet a specific person only whoever was available. Still it would make verifying they were who they said they were difficult.

Reaching the monument in the centre of the square Yang leant up against it and Blake put her shoulder next to her. It was good to have something solid against her back. The pockmarks in the stone showed it had already withstood some gunfire.

As the minutes ticked by she couldn't help but peer intently at every person who passed near to them. There were none that caused any of her instincts to kick in. Most just seemed to be normal people who were heading out or heading home after a day's work.

As the specified meeting time ticked by and still no one appeared the tension coursing throughout her body caused her leg to spasm. In the White Fang she'd gotten very good at waiting around while observing a possible target, but those times she'd usually been hidden, not out in the open. If this was a trap there could very well be a rifle trained on her at this very moment and the first she'd know about it would be the bullet hitting her.

Yang was doing little better. "Come on where are they?" she hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

"I'm not sure, Coco you see anything?"

"Negative."

"We can only keep waiting I guess. This is our one opportunity."

Yang nodded, clenching and unclenching her fist. "I just wish they'd hurry up."

But they didn't. Incredibly slowly the minutes passed until Blake's watch was much closer to four than three. It was getting to the point that despite the activity in the square they must have started to look suspicious. They'd been standing there barely talking for almost an hour.

Blake was just about to suggest calling it a day and regrouping when Velvet spoke. "Nine o'clock."

Despite the warning the figure had come around the corner of the monument nearest them and was past them before Blake managed to get a look at their face.

It was a he though, in a gruff voice he said one word. "Follow."

He didn't wait for a reply but instead, without breaking stride, walked off in a direction perpendicular to where Velvet and Coco were waiting. She and Yang exchanged a glance but they didn't really have a choice but to obey.

His clothes were entirely non-descript, a dark jacket, blue jeans, a cap pulled over black hair. From the back he could have been anyone. He appeared to be human though, unless his ears were uncomfortably crushed under his cap, or he had a shorter tail that was concealable.

Still there was something about his walk that tugged hard at her memory. It wasn't so much a walk, as an ultra-confident saunter. She was sure he was a hunter. Only someone trained in combat moved with that sort of perpetual balance.

"Where are you going? We're about to lose sight," the concern in Coco's voice was easy to pick up on.

Just in case he was a Faunus and this was a trap, Blake didn't want to reveal that the two of them had backup. Instead of replying she put her hand in the small of her back and tried to signal the other pair to follow.

"Roger, we're moving now."

Feeling slightly better knowing that their backs were still going to be covered, Blake tried to speed up so she could talk to their contact, but he matched every one of her paces with one of his own.

Unless she wished to break into a sprint, she was forced to concede and instead silently did as instructed. The stranger led them from the square, through a few twists and turns which luckily didn't lose Coco and Velvet until they came to a building that had been damaged and currently looked abandoned.

Gingerly Blake led the way across the threshold. Transitioning from light to darkness her eyesight would be better than Yang's and she should be able to spot any danger first. They were in a house. It appeared by the rectangles of lighter dust that some of the furniture had been looted or appropriated. Their contact was stood in the middle of what must have been the living room with his back to them.

As he turned round and she saw his face for the first time, Blake's stomach dropped out of her body.

"You're dead!" Yang exclaimed.

"Shit really? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Sun made a display of checking himself for injuries.

"How?" Was the only word Blake's swirling mind could formulate.

Sun was alive. Somehow. When she'd learned he and his team hadn't made it back to Beacon, they'd assumed the worse. So many had died it was the logical conclusion to jump to. Much of the week they'd spent travelling to Atlas had been spent mourning him and the others who hadn't made it.

But Sun's had affected her most of the ones she wasn't able to prevent. They'd had a thing. They'd gone on dates, and though she might have been trying to forget Adam, there'd been something there.

In all honesty she hadn't known just if it was going to go anywhere. They'd cooled off while they'd both concentrated on the tournament and then any possibility of getting together again had been snatched away.

She'd spent nights and nights seeing his face, imagining just how he'd died, torturing herself just like her subconscious enjoyed doing. Only apparently he hadn't died. He was standing here, looking different, and tired, but very much alive.

Sun knew exactly what she was asking. "We were downtown when it happened. We were doing fine. We were trying to work out how to get forty people in a basement across the city when the building came down on us. It must have got hit by something but we were trapped in there. By the time we cleared an exit the White Fang were out in force. We decided to wait until morning before trying to get the civilians to Beacon, it was too dangerous. Of course we didn't know you were evacuating. And we've been here ever since."

"We?"

"All my team, Neptune was injured by the collapse, another reason why we didn't want to move too soon, but we're all ok. Yours? Ruby and Weiss?"

"Fine," at the moment she was having trouble putting more than one word together, it was too much to take in. Four people had been brought back to life.

"I knew you guys would be ok." Sun seemed to be handling it better than she was. "I can tell you it was a shock when I saw you. I had no clue who I was meant to be meeting. Sorry I kept you waiting, but I had to make sure you hadn't been followed."

Blake finally managed to come up with a course of action that matched the enormity of the emotions flooding through her. For the second time that day she burst into tears and this time it was Sun she sought to embrace.

He returned it with feeling. It couldn't have been any easier on him. In fact it must have been harder. Not only had he had to contend with not knowing if his friends were alive or dead, he'd been in a city under occupation as well.

Only a few tears wetted her eyes, but the events of the day, being constantly on edge, seeing how much the lives of the Faunus had improved, and now this, had completely exhausted her. After several more shuddering breaths she broke the embrace and couldn't help but smile in resonance with his grin.

"So you're our contact in the underground?" She asked after Yang had hugged him as well.

"Yeah, it's been interesting to say the least." He pulled his tail free where from where it had been coiled in his jacket. In explanation he added, "I got pegged a couple of weeks ago, the White Fang are looking for a monkey Faunus. Ironically it's safer for me to get around as a human. But I see you've already taken precautions. Blue suits you by the way."

Before either of them could answer Coco's impatient voice came through their earpieces. "Give me a status update."

With the reveal of the state of Sun's mortality, she'd completely forgotten about the other two members of their team. She keyed her radio. "It's safe. Come on in."

Sun tensed as she spoke and for the first time Blake saw the effect the strain of the situation was having on him. He centred his balance and his eyes darted around. As much as he had tried to present himself as carefree and untroubled as he had been before, she knew from experience just how close he was to cracking.

"It's ok. It's the other half of our team, Coco and Velvet, from Beacon," she said softly.

Sun visibly tried to calm his rapid breathing, Perhaps to try and cover it up, he spoke again. "Really? I didn't see them. Either they're very good at hiding, or I've gotten sloppy."

Until they came into sight the tension didn't leave Sun's body. When you lived on the run like he'd been, you tended to treat everything as a threat until irrevocably proved otherwise. It was what had made building relationships in the White Fang so difficult, everyone had been constantly on edge and looking out only for themselves.

Once he recognised the threat was just imaginary Sun managed to get through the reintroductions without further incident. He hadn't known Coco and Velvet well, the only time he'd really socialised with CFVY had been at the party in the middle of the tournament, but it was enough.

Coco then started to bombard him with questions about the underground, most of which he didn't answer.

"Look let's get somewhere safe before we discuss this in more detail." Sun said finally.

"This isn't your base?" Yang asked.

"Of course not, it's a ruin. It was just somewhere nearby that was easy to escape from. But our safe house at the moment isn't that far. Come on." Coco started to ask something else. "No more. I'll answer everything when we get there."

He led them out into the early evening sunlight. This part of the city was closer to the industrial district than they'd been, and naturally there were less people in sight. Sun led them through twists and turns and only once when he spotted a White Fang patrol did he drag them all into an alley.

Eventually they came to a small warehouse near the sea, when he paused in front of it. "Listen, the underground isn't just my team, there's actually quite a few of us. Some are a little jumpy, so don't do anything to set them off. And remember everyone here is on your side."

"Are you the leader?" Coco queried.

Sun grinned and regained some of the humour that had so defined him before Vale fell. "Thankfully not. I wouldn't know where to begin."

"So who is?"

"It'll be easier if I show you." He turned and unlocked the small side door next to the main ones. It led into an office with dust covered desks. "This is just a front, there's an underground section that apparently used to belong to some smugglers. If any patrols come by they won't be any the wiser."

There was just enough light coming in through the murky windows to navigate without artificial illumination. Sun led them towards the back of the offices before showing them the brick they had to remove to get to the latch for the fake wall that swung open revealing stairs.

Underfoot the metal echoed and underground the temperature dropped dramatically. At the foot of the stairs there was another door and Sun stood to the side of it, gesturing her in. "Ladies first."

Blake stepped through and the moment her eyes adjusted to the brightness her knife dropped into her hand and behind her Ember Celica cocked.

"Hello kitty cat."

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

"Hello kitty cat."

Blake was very aware of the weight of the knife that had just dropped into her hand from her forearm sheath. Her brain was busy calculating just how far away Torchwick was standing from her and noting any obstructions on the hard stone floor.

Seven paces at a sprint, about half a second.  _Too long_. Two paces and then her Semblance to cover the rest.  _Better_. A quick slash at his throat, spin, drive at his spine, and then keep on stabbing until his Aura fails.

That was what the analytical part of her mind was doing in the fraction of a second after she'd stepped through the door to the underground hideout and seen Roman waiting there. But it was only a small part of her. The rest was burning with rage.

It was him, Torchwick. The scum who'd made everything that had happened possible. The person whom she'd let live. She'd been trying to live up to an ideal that simply wasn't realistic, and by showing him mercy, she was responsible for the fall of Vale almost as much as he was.

That burden would always weigh heavy on her shoulders. There was nothing she could do to change it, but she could atone for it now.

Or at least that was the plan before an inferno ignited behind her. Her reaction to seeing Torchwick had at least been slightly tempered by logic. Yang was much more impulsive. She saw one of the people who had caused her and so many others so much hurt, and she wanted to make him pay.

In her bloodlust Yang didn't see her partner in front of her, she strode forward almost knocking Blake to the ground in a flurry of fluorescent sparks. If Torchwick had any sense he would have backed away from the tempest approaching him, instead he just smiled.

If it was possible the room got hotter. An unconcerned grin from Torchwick was just about the only thing that could have made Yang angrier. So consumed by her rage she didn't even try to fire at Torchwick instead with a power that had taken chunks out of buildings her right hook struck Roman's stationary face.

His jaw shattered. The cracks raced outwards, propagating over his entire body until he broke into a thousand pieces which shimmered in the lights as they fell to the floor.

Yang screamed. Her cry was full of anguish, but Yang didn't let the fresh pain stop her, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling inside. Blake almost felt like joining her. Torchwick had been here; she'd let him slip through her fingers. Again. At least Yang had tried to attack him. Once again she'd failed.

"Aww, I thought you'd be happy to see me hot stuff." Roman stepped through a door at the far end of the room, leaning on his cane with an exaggerated pout.

Yang zeroed in on her target again, but only managed two running steps before skidding to a halt. The tip of an elaborately decorated parasol swayed just before her eyes and as it closed in on itself, a very annoyed looking girl was revealed.

Neo's jaw was almost jutting as she stared down her flaming opponent, but her petite frame was entirely devoid of anything resembling apprehension; that lack might have been well founded. Yang had told Blake about the previous fight on the train, but this time Yang wasn't alone.

With the sounds of Reine de Beauté deploying and the click of Velvet's box behind her, Blake locked eyes with her target. If she could kill Roman quickly they could take down Neo together. Roman looked even less impressed with her than Neo did with Yang, or maybe he was just better at hiding any real emotions.

"Come on kitty cat, you don't want to do this." He swayed back and forth on his cane giving her puppy dog eyes. "I thought we were friends."

Blake longed to sink her knife into his awfully tempting throat; it wouldn't be easy, especially not if Neo could come to his aid. To avert that possibility she took several steps to the side away from the standoff. Still his nonchalant attitude made her question herself slightly. "Why wouldn't I want to do this?"

"Well I can give you one very good, and very short reason." Neo turned away from Yang long enough to shoot a scowl that almost stripped Roman's flesh from his bones. "You should see what she did to the last people who she thought hurt me." Roman placed a hand on his chest in an overacted display of shock. "I'm a hardened, repugnant criminal and it was even enough to unsettle my disposition." In a stage whisper he added. "I think she might need therapy." With her free hand Neo made a series of rapid and angry gestures in Roman's direction.

While she was distracted Yang took the opportunity to swing, but her fist only connected with a parasol. A brief flurry of combat took place that even Blake had a hard time following as obscuring streams of fire were left hanging in the air. After a few seconds they broke apart both breathing more heavily.

"Come on, can't we all just get along?" As he had done since they got here, Roman took their very real intent to kill in stride. The remark managed to break through some of the red haze and Yang joined Neo in glaring at him; both gave a start when they realised their expression was mirrored on the other's face.

Roman laughed at their reaction to the revelation. "See we're already like one big happy family."

"Torchwick, on the floor. You too ice cream." Coco had obviously had enough. Reine de Beauté spun threateningly, the whirring oddly enhanced by the echoes. As always, Velvet had her back.

"That is a big gun. You're obviously pleased to see me."

"It's a big gun which is about to paint the wall behind you. On the floor now!"

"And I thought the Dionese were meant to have better taste," he drawled "Red really would clash horribly."

"Everyone stop!" Sun put himself between Coco and Torchwick.

"Ahh come on, we were just having fun," Roman spread his arms.

"Can you take this seriously for once!"

"Sun what is going on?" Coco growled; she'd lowered her weapon, but only slightly. Him leading her to a lair hiding a known criminal hiding in it had eroded some of the trust she'd had in him.

Roman didn't let Sun answer. "It doesn't take a genius to work out, and Beacon students are supposed to be smart." He cocked his head and looked at them doubtfully. "You're here to meet the person in charge of the resistance! And now, it's just an exercise in deduction. Here's a hint: It's probably not the mute." Neo scowled at him again but under the weight of realisation that had just fallen on her, Blake didn't even notice. 

"No." The single word hung resolute in the air, there was no way Ozpin would have set this up.

"Oh, yes," he grinned at her. "We're all on the same team now. Won't this be fun?"

"On the same team! You're the one who caused all of this!"

Roman held up a finger. "No I didn't. I'm a service provider. I was contracted to acquire otherwise unavailable merchandise and facilitate its relocation. It's not my place to dictate what my client can and can't do with it."

"What kind of bullshit excuse is that!" Blake's rage flared up again as she was forced to listen to him try and weasel his way out of taking responsibility. No matter what lies his gilded tongue told, everyone who had died, had done so because of him.

"So why are you working against your client now?" Coco asked.

"It's quite simple; they aren't my client anymore." Roman's brow darkened and for the first time some of his levity vanished. "After you two ruined what we had going in Mountain Glenn, they decided that my usefulness was at an end." He shrugged ruefully. "An entirely logical assumption. There wasn't a lot I could do from behind bars, at least for the few weeks it would have taken me to orchestrate an escape." Blake longed to wipe the arrogant smirk off his face. "I told my jailors nothing, and I can accept being imprisoned. It's a risk that I accepted when I moved into this line of work. What I can't accept," he ground his cane into the floor, all traces of humour gone. "Is for my client to shoot down a ship when I'm on board it.  _That_  is pushing every boundary of professional courtesy."

"So what, you're doing this to get payback?" If there was one motivation that Blake may have been able to trust, it was that one. If Torchwick really had been on the Deliverance when it was shot down then he was lucky he had survived at all. A scumbag like him would want to get even, no matter the cost.

Roman grinned. "Well that, and I am being generously compensated for my work. I was made an offer that was simply too good to refuse." Neo made a couple more gestures at him. "Oh, and full immunity of course. For me and the midget."

"Immunity?" Yang's voice dripped with anger.

"As I said, the offer was very generous."

Ozpin, it must have been him. He was the only one who could have guaranteed that. It was a betrayal. Whenever they'd talked Ozpin had always spoken about what being a hunter actually meant. They were meant to stand for what was right in the world, for the people who couldn't defend themselves. They were meant to be incorruptible, never swaying from their path.

And as Blake had always known, Ozpin was a hypocrite. He might preach about morals but he certainly didn't seem to believe that they applied to him. Torchwick was a criminal. He should be locked up at best, but in her opinion even that wouldn't atone for what he'd done. He certainly shouldn't be being rewarded for doing the right thing. The sight of his white teeth and obvious satisfaction at his situation disgusted her.

Ozpin may have been able to promise immunity from the law, but he couldn't promise immunity from her. Torchwick would get what he deserved. One way or another.

"Look guys he might be an ass, but he's good at what he does," Sun weighed in, still trying to defuse the situation. "He arranged all of this, the safe houses, the supplies. If we want anything all we have to do is ask, and there's a good chance he can get it. Do any of you know how to organise a resistance? Because I certainly don't. He does."

"Thank you Sun for that delightful appraisal of my character. I am indeed an immaculately well-tailored  _ass_." He made a show of dusting invisible dirt from his jacket. "A resistance isn't all that different from a criminal enterprise. Just now I'm likely to get a medal, parades, and statues when everything is done." His voice became serious. "So here's how this is going to go down. We don't have to like each other. I couldn't care less about what you say about me behind my back. But what you are going to do, is exactly what I tell you to.

"Even if it's to strip and start dancing, the only answer I expect is  _yes_. I know what I'm doing, you don't. And at the same time, only  _I_  can see the entire picture. You won't come into contact with anyone outside this cell. What I tell you to do might seem nonsensical, but it's likely it will be a small part of a much, much bigger plan.

"You no longer have the safety net of being in school. If you fuck up here, there's a very good chance you and your friends will die." His frown deepened. "And I will not let you take me and Neo down with you.

"So, you will all give me your word that while you are on this mission you will obey me." He leered threateningly, "Otherwise, I will leave and tip off the White Fang that you're back here. I doubt it will take them long to catch up with you. And it doesn't take a genius to guess what they'd do to a group of spies and traitors... Choose."

All of them apart from Yang glanced at each other. Their options sucked. That was the only way Blake could sum it all up. Ozpin had thrown them all in here, on a mission that they had no training for, and he expected them to work with Torchwick. And Ozpin knew how she felt about him.

It was almost enough to make her walk out the door and not look back. Despite what Torchwick said, she knew how to hide herself in a city. In the White Fang, she'd learned all the spots that most don't check, the places that will look the other way for a bit of extra cash. It wouldn't be too hard for her to get back to the tunnels with enough supplies and leave the way they'd come.

But then what? If she abandoned the mission Ozpin would hunt her down. He wouldn't accept the breach of his authority. Everything she'd worked so hard to build in the last year would be undone in a heartbeat. It was barely a solution for her, it certainly wasn't for the others.

They all had family, people who were relying on them to come back as heroes not deserters. No, they had to see this through to the end, and they meant working with someone whom she still believed deserved only the point of her knife.

It was true he was good; in fact, he was better than good. To move as much hardware into Vale as he'd managed spoke of skills almost beyond comprehension. They would be much more effective with him than without. If it kept them safe, she could promise to obey him. Even if her tongue would likely turn black.

It seemed Coco and Velvet had already made up their minds as well. They both subtly nodded at her. Only Yang hadn't. Her fists were still half raised towards Neo and her Semblance continued to spawn motes of light.

In the past she'd seen how much anger tended to cloud Yang's mind. In the heat of battle Yang normally let go of her restraint and allowed her body to do as she wished. It was an effective tactic most of the time, but as Erashan and Neo had proved, it wasn't all the time. It especially wouldn't be here, she needed to reach her.

"Yang, I don't like it, and I'm sure you don't either. But at the moment it's for the best." Blake tried her best to keep her own tone soothing, but could barely hide her own disgust at her words.

Finally Yang broke eye contact with Neo and rounded on her. Normally Yang's Semblance was useful; it was a clear indicator of the point when it was best to steer the conversation to safer waters. Only here they were headed straight for the rocks.

"For the best! They murdered all those people!" Yang's incarnadine eyes drilled into hers. Barely hidden beneath the surface of anger was contempt.

To see it in Yang's gaze hurt, but what hurt worse was she knew she deserved it. The world was so much simpler for Yang, there were good people and there were bad people. And Torchwick most definitely fell into the latter group. The good people were meant to stand against him, but here she was suggesting they work with him.

"They did, and if there's any justice in the world, it will haunt them to their graves." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Neo glare at her. "But if we're going to beat the White Fang we need them. Please Yang. For me." It was the lowest of the low to invoke their friendship and perhaps more to attempt to sway her, but it was the only way she could come up with.

The plea almost rocked Yang back. If Blake had ever doubted the strength of Yang's feelings towards her, she was given a very definite answer. For a moment Yang seemed to be torn in two. One side of her crying out for violence, the other wanting to honour what they had together.

But it was only for a moment. Yang's tense breathing eased and finally she unclenched her fists. For her Yang would work with her worst enemy. Blake mouthed  _thank you_.

"The voice of reason, I would never have guessed. Do I have your word?"

Blake gritted her teeth, Torchwick's attitude just got under her skin. "You do." The words tasted just as bad as she'd feared they would.

"Thank you kitty cat. I'm sure we'll get along splendidly. The rest of you?"

Both Coco and Velvet voiced their assent, though neither sounded particularly happy about it. Yang merely nodded.

"That's not good enough smoke stack, I need your word."

The goading was almost enough to set Yang off again, but she managed to choke out a single word. "Fine."

Blake could see that she had bent as much as she were able, anymore and she would break. Torchwick obviously noticed too for he didn't push her any further.

"Thank you. I can just feel this is the start of a beautiful relationship. Now I guess for some of you introductions are in order. My fame might precede me, but this is Neo."

He held a hand towards her as if it were a dramatic reveal. Neo stood looking almost disappointed that the violence had been averted, and was fingering her parasol dejectedly. There was just something wrong with her eyes, and it wasn't the differing colour. Blake had known people like her in the White Fang. They were the ones who always came back from a simple reconnaissance mission where things had gone wrong and the situation had escalated until bloodshed was the only solution. As Neo cocked her head and looked at her, Blake felt a chill run down her spine.

"If she has an instruction for you act as if it came straight from me because it probably did. But be warned, if you give her the chance she'll talk your ear off. Most days I just can't get her to shut up." Blake might not have been able to understand sign language, but Neo made a very universal gesture in Torchwick's direction that needed no translation.

"And Neo no stabbing them." Roman's voice was firm as Neo pouted at him. "Not unless I tell you to anyway," her lips curled into a grin. "Now let's get down to some actual work."

Torchwick waved them all to follow him through a doorway. Blake made sure to let Neo go first. They might be on the same team temporarily but she trusted both of them about as far as she could throw them. Torchwick hadn't survived this long on the run by doing what was best for others. If it came down to it, he would sacrifice them all to save his own skin.

The room had enough metal folding chairs for them all to sit facing a wall covered in a large map of Vale. Various other bits of paper all with the same scrawling handwriting on it, plastered the walls. Blake took the seat at far end and Yang slid in next to her, heat still wafting from her body. She may have given her word, but she was still clearly not happy about the idea of working with their present company.

Roman waited at the front until they were seated before speaking. "I'm guessing you don't know much about what's been going on?" After various grunts and shakes of the head he continued. "Right, here's how the situation is going down. The White Fang are thoroughly in control. Any members of the bureaucracy that were left in Vale have either joined them or been executed. You can guess which group was larger. The White Fang may be good at causing chaos, but a city requires much steadier hands. For the White Fang paperwork has become just as important as military strength and those who have joined them are proving invaluable assets."

The change that had come over Torchwick was plain. His voice had entirely lost the air of humour it normally carried and his stance was similar to that of any lecturer back at Beacon. Blake had always known that the persona he presented couldn't be the whole truth, there was no way someone like that could have been as successful as he was in such an unforgiving environment. But still to see the change was surprising.

"They are ensuring that the farms that weren't destroyed are continuing to supply the city, that the inflow of Faunus is continuing, and that the rationing of Dust is not yet affecting the populace significantly. They are the pumping heart of Vale, and consequently they are some of our primary targets. They're also easy; most don't have fully activated Auras, and there's too many of them for the White Fang to provide an effective security details. Not that they would, not for humans."

Roman slammed his cane into the ground in frustration. "Don't look at me like that." Blake realized she hadn't been the only one looking at Roman in disgust. "What did you think we were doing here? Were you four planning to charge straight into the Eburnean House and take on the entirety of the White Fang? Go ahead. When you win I'll get paid much sooner."

Their faces sobered and Roman continued.

"With their new recruits they outnumber us a thousand to one. I'm sure you've seen them on the streets and that's only the ones who are openly members. All the Faunus here will do anything to protect their new found kingdom. If they discover you, the grandmothers and children will rip you limb from limb. You have no allies here.

"Get this into your heads; the White Fang is too strong for us to confront directly. We need to bleed them. We need to make them suffer a thousand different wounds until they are weak enough for us to be more overt. We have to start at the edges. Their leadership is protected, their bureaucrats and lower members aren't."

Blake hated that he was making so much sense. The people who had been trapped here and had since decided to work for the White Fang weren't the bad guys. They'd been through hell only to find it wasn't yet over. Given the choice between death and fealty, not many would pick the former.

But war was a darkness that didn't allow shades of grey to exist. Only us and them. If the bureaucrats were making the White Fang more effective, then they and the terrorists were one and the same.

It wasn't like it was any different for the ones on the other side of the conflict. She'd taken part in attacks against employees of the SDC who were separated from the blood on their hands by scores of people. Security guards, managers, even some of the board. In the White Fang's eyes, and her rage filled ones, they had all been valid targets.

"But now you're here. With you four, this particular cell is probably one of the strongest in terms of direct combat capabilities. It would be a waste of your skills to send you against the grunts. Anyone can take them out, your objectives will be a lot more difficult to accomplish."

"So what are they?" Coco asked.

"That's part of the reason why we're meeting. I need to know just what you kids are prepared to do. I'm sure you all consider yourselves good people." Blake tried to avoid his stare, all too aware of what he knew about her past. "And that you'll probably hesitate when it comes to pulling the trigger. That's no good for either of us. So to begin with at least, I'll keep you away from the deeper end. But if it comes down to it, you better be ready to pull that trigger."

It was far more considerate than Blake would ever have believed possible of Torchwick. Deep down she knew she wouldn't hesitate, she'd pulled the trigger so to speak enough times, but the others hadn't been through what she had.

They might have had to take a life before, but the difference between someone dying in a fight and a pre-meditated murder was wider than the ocean. Despite her rage and thirst for payback Yang certainly didn't have it in her, not without her sacrificing the person she was. The others probably didn't either. If it came down to it, to save her teammates souls, she would bear the burden on her own sullied one.

Torchwick continued. "It will also give you a chance to ask some questions and for us to come up with some ideas. You've all only arrived. You'll have a fresh perspective, and might be able to see something we missed. So, Neo if you please," he held out a felt tip pen and gestured at the blank piece of paper pinned to the wall beside him.

Neo looked up, startled from where she's been inattentively fingering the hilt of her parasol. As soon as she worked out just why everyone was looking at her she shook her head vigorously.

"Neo," Roman said more sternly.

With a scowl of vexation and something else marring her face, she leant her parasol against the wall. She took great care as if it were a treasured possession, then almost stomped her way over to Roman snatching the pen from his hand.

"Thank you," his voice practically dripped with sweetness. He turned back to his audience, "So any questions or ideas?"

Blake hated this. Despite her misgivings about what they were here to do her mind was already planning and plotting the most logical course of action.

Coco spoke first. "You said we're among the cells. Is it just us and SSSN? And if were among your strongest, just who else is here?"

"The last ones the easiest to answer; that's none of your concern. The entire point of operating in cells is so if one is compromised, the rest aren't. Neo and I are the only two who have contact with the entirety of the network. It's safer that way."

"Apart from if you're caught."

"Obviously, but all the cells can't act on their own. This way it reduces the risk to two people instead of all the members of the organisation. But you're right. If I get caught the whole thing would come tumbling down, so you better do your best to make sure it doesn't happen. As for this cell, it is just you and SSSN. I decided to put all you kiddies together."

Coco glowered at the remark but shoved her retort to one side. "Where are the rest of them anyway?"

"Didn't Sun tell you?"

Sun shook his head. "There was a lot to cover."

"Right. Yesterday something happened outside of Vale. Something big. I'm not sure what. All we know is that a significant number of White Fang troops left the city and the rest of SSSN are tailing them. You guys got lucky. Whatever it was made your infiltration one hell of a lot easier."

They really had. All this time Blake had been unable to shake a feeling that they should have seen more actual White Fang. There just hadn't seemed to be enough of them on the streets. Now she knew the reason why. Though not the reason for them moving so many troops out of Vale. If not for the fact she knew differently she would have said that Atlas had started their offensive. But they hadn't. That was the entire reason they'd been sent here, to prepare the way. It could have been Grimm, but again that threat just didn't seem big enough. It was likely a mystery that would remain until the rest of SSSN returned with more intel.

"So have you guys seen anything of interest? Shout it out, no matter how stupid it might seem. Don't worry I can't think any lower of you," he said with a grin.

"The new recruits, they just seem to be pissing people off." Coco said a hint of venom still in her voice from her own treatment at their hands.

"I've had some ideas about them as well. What else?"

"You mentioned Dust. We should steal some or at least destroy their supplies."

"Good. Add  _appropriate or destroy Dust_."

As he spoke Blake watched Neo turn to the piece of paper. Rather than write it down and carry on listening, Neo treated it like a much bigger ordeal. Very carefully she set her pen to the page and when she did start writing her movements were erratic.

The untidy scrawls all around the room suddenly made sense. The handwriting was almost like a child's, or perhaps someone who wasn't entirely confident with their penmanship. Neo's pink tongue was pressed between her lips in concentration as she slowly penned an  _A_.

Watching her some more, it seemed as if Neo was neither confident with writing, nor with spelling. She'd paused in the middle of writing  _Appropriate_ , and though her pen moved towards the paper, several times she didn't make a mark. It was only after a hand signal from Roman which was so quick that Blake almost missed it that Neo was able to continue.

It was a puzzle. Though Neo's height definitely threw her off Blake had guessed before that she was at least their age and probably older. But now she wasn't sure. Neo certainly didn't have the figure of a child, she'd definitely experienced at least some of the stages of puberty, but she wrote like someone who'd only just been introduced to the arts of reading and writing.

Coupled with her never having uttered a word in their presence, it pointed to Neo perhaps not having anything that could be considered remotely close to a normal childhood and Blake couldn't help but wonder just how she came to be tangled up with someone like Torchwick?

"I suppose we should at least try and disrupt the White Fang leadership. Not that we know all that much about them," Coco said.

That had been a quandary for Blake. To her relief Ozpin had seemed to be in the dark about much of the White Fang's internal structure. It was a relief because if Ozpin had known about Adam, he would have known about her past as well. But it had also been a problem. There was no question that Coco and Velvet would be in more danger not knowing the things she knew, but as much as her guilt cried out at her to tell them, her fear of discovery was stronger.

"Well having worked with them I should be able to help you out," Torchwick said. "The first thing you should know is that the White Fang is under the control of Adam Taurus. He's smart, skilled, and also completely psychotic." As he spoke he stared directly Blake and she understood what he was implying; he knew at least some of their history together.

"But the White Fang are not the ones calling the shots. That person is called Cinder Fall. She's smarter, and stronger, and likely the reason why Vale hasn't fallen apart at the seams. To be honest she scares even me. But she doesn't have the support base Adam has. If we should target either of them, we should start with her."

Yang laughed out loud. "Are you kidding?"

"Look match head, if I tell a joke you'll be rolling on the floor laughing." Torchwick snapped. "What's so funny?"

"Tell me what does she look like? What does she wear?"

Though he looked slightly puzzled Roman acquiesced. "About six foot, brown hair, red dress, hot if you must know. And in more ways than one."

"It's her." Yang said and all the newcomers understood her meaning.

"It is. We most definitely will not be starting with her," Coco said.

"I know Red ran into her a few times, but I didn't expect you all to be scared of her. She's just a huntress."

"How can you not know?" Blake couldn't help but ask. Torchwick had apparently spent time talking to her, but then she supposed  _Cinder_  as she was apparently called, had not shown her true strength before the end, right when Torchwick had been stuck on the downed Deliverance.

"Tell me would you go after Ozpin?" Coco asked.

"Not directly. Not if I could help it."

"Well she's his peer. You know sector 14 of the industrial district? That's where she and Ozpin had a  _fight_. It was mostly intact before they got there. Those two aren't normal."

Roman was silent for a moment. "You're all serious aren't you? I've seen her fight she's not that strong," he was still in denial.

"Well so have we, and when she wasn't holding back. I'm one of the strongest Beacon has seen in years and I would rate my own chances against her as non-existent. Velvet might be able to do a little better, but only a little."

Roman looked at her disparagingly. "What the bunny?"

Velvet seemed to draw into herself after being thrust into the limelight and Coco's face darkened. "I'll give you a little bit of advice for free. We might be on the same team now but if I ever hear you insult Velvet again, I'm going to kick your ass up between your ears."

The threat was coolly delivered. It didn't seem to faze Roman at all, and Velvet blushed as her teammate came to her defence.

"I'm sure you'll try. Now before we all try to adjust each other's ass to ears ratio, we've gotten slightly off track. I'm not sure I believe you about Cinder, but we'll hold off her for the moment. Add leadership Neo."

Neo who'd gratefully dropped her pen as soon as Coco had made her threat and had been edging towards her weapon, scowled again before reversing her course.

"Anything else?"

They spent the next half an hour rattling off various ideas about how to destabilise the rule of the White Fang. Fortunately most minimised the amount of bloodshed and instead targeted the infrastructure. Most but not all. The White Fang were people, not buildings, and eventually they would have to be targeted directly.

"Well, you haven't completely lived up to my opinion of you. This is work that a grade schooler would be proud of," Roman said while going over what Neo had scrawled. "It's a start anyway." He took the pen from Neo and circled  _Finance_  several times. "That's where you'll start."

It had come as a surprise for them all to learn that Vale was not entirely isolated. Though the governments of the world had expressed outrage at what the White Fang had done and succinctly banned trade, in the end, money spoke.

The docks of Vale had not been silent. The occasional small freighter laden with supplies had risked the voyage. The crews of the ships may have feared being robbed and killed but to the speculators who owned them it was a calculated risk. And one which had paid off.

Cinder, Adam and the rest of the White Fang leadership had realised that Vale couldn't survive on its own. The city needed the lifeblood of trade to be restored and had paid amply for the supplies that had been delivered.

It incensed Blake that money was worth more than the lives of the people who had died but that was simply the way the world worked. The investors saw the opportunity for a profit and they took it gleefully.

The first ships to arrive had been those which had already set sail before the uprising, but the ones arriving now had been sent deliberately. There were even some from Atlas, despite everything the White Fang had done there, and they no doubt contained supplies that could be repurposed for military use.

The influx of goods would only improve the White Fang's position. Every shipment which they paid for gave them an air of legitimacy on the world stage. The docks simply had to be targeted, but more than that, the negotiations had to be stopped and the companies that were dealing with them exposed.

Roman checked his watch. "As delightful as this has been I'm afraid I have a prior engagement I simply have to get to. You know what you need to do. I expect you to have made progress by the next time we meet. Don't make me regret giving you this bit of freedom. Oh and try not to burn the place down to the ground like you do to all my other hideouts."

Hating herself all the while, Blake silently thanked him. The docks weren't too bad. Not when they could have been assigned a target which would have been much bloodier.

Torchwick himself theatrically bowed after setting up the next meeting with Sun before departing in an air of pompousness. Neo traipsed after him, obviously still sulking at being forced to write in front of them. In the absence of the arrogance he exuded the room seem to grow much larger.

"That could have gone worse," Sun said from where he leant against the wall.

It was the wrong thing to say. Yang's temper may have simmered down as they had talked and she had even made a few suggestions, but it had by no means been extinguished. Blake didn't even think it was possible. Yang's temper always seemed to be there, just beneath the surface, just waiting for the fuel it needed to erupt from her body.

It was one of the things that made her friend special. In a pinch Yang would always be there for her. But it also scared her. Yang existed on a knife edge and it only took the slightest nudge to send her tumbling off it.

Sun gargled as bronzed forearm slammed into his throat pinning him against the wall. Yang had moved so quickly none of them had even been able to react.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell us he'd be here!" Yang shouted as she batted Sun's weak attempts to free himself away.

Sun might have tried to answer, but he was barely able to draw air into his lungs. Though his Aura was active, Aura's were less effective against slowly increasing pressure than they were against bullets.

It might have been possible for him to fight his way clear. If he'd activated his Semblance, called his clones, it might have turned the tables in his favour. Might. A close range engagement with Yang in an enclosed space was one few would be skilful enough to walk away from. It was possible the reason Sun didn't fight back was that he wanted to avoid any escalation. It was equally likely that his world had shrunk to desperately trying to pull the thing obstructing his breathing away.

"Yang stop!" It took both Coco and Blake to drag Yang away and even then it wasn't easy.

Enraged as she was, her strength matched both of them as she bucked and the hairs on their bodies coiled under the heat. It hurt Blake to keep a grip on Yang's body, but she was out of control. All the rage she'd been bottling up for months was pouring out and it was aimed solely at Sun.

"Yang!" Blake tried to break through the red mist, but her cry went unheeded.

Coco had obviously had enough of merely trying to restrain Yang and kicked the back of Yang's knee. Against anyone else the leverage would have been enough, but even though she stumbled Yang managed to drag the two of them closer to the still coughing figure of Sun.

Blake's brain overloaded with pain. Her eyes burned white. Her ears rang indescribably loudly. For many long beats of her heart she was entirely unable to corral a thought together. Her teeth ached as she opened and closed her mouth.

It was only after several long seconds did the very first ghostly silhouettes resolve themselves on her vision. She was on her knees, she didn't remember falling down, but she couldn't remember all that many details of the last few seconds. The heat emanating from the hazy shadow pressed against her shoulder told her it was Yang.

Blake blinked rapidly and gradually her eyes began to regain their sensitivity towards light. As the room brightened she saw Coco hunched down with her hand pressed over her grimacing face. Sun didn't seem to be in a much better state, but at least whatever had happened had taken the fight out of Yang.

Still it was better to be safe than sorry. Blake manoeuvred her way between them, only too aware that it could all start again. At the back of the room Velvet was the only one still standing. Though she was supporting her weight on a chair back and holding her two long ears with a pitiful expression on her face.

"What just happened?" Blake asked or at least thought she did. Her own voice was entirely inaudible over the ringing. Annoyed, she funnelled her Aura into the delicate tissues in her ears.

The ringing grew in pitch until she could almost hear words beneath it.

"Sorry," Velvet seemed to mouth and it took Blake a moment to connect the dots.

Velvet hadn't been helping them manhandle Yang; she'd stayed out of the way and obviously done something else. Stun grenades didn't tend to be used that often, but Velvet had obviously created her own. If not for how much pain she was in, Blake would have been impressed with the breadth of Velvet's Dustcraft. Creating an explosion which produced only light and a weak overpressure couldn't have been easy, but Velvet had managed to drop four hunters in only a few heartbeats.

"Damn it Velvet! Warn me before you do that!" From the extension of her mouth Coco was probably shouting, but it was almost a normal volume to everyone in the room. "And Yang sort yourself out."

Yang herself had recovered enough to stagger to her feet and her carmine eyes locked on Sun. Blake got in their way.

"Calm down."

"Why are you taking his side! He set us up!" Conversation was still difficult, but there was no mistaking Yang's words or Sun's as he spoke from behind her.

"Fucking psycho!"

"I'm not taking anyone's side!" In truth she was just as annoyed with Sun as Yang was. It would only have taken a word to warn them. Admittedly it would have taken him a lot more to get her to agree to the meeting, but it had almost ended disastrously.

Frankly it could still end disastrously. A quick check over her shoulder showed her Sun had pulled his staff from his back and was brandishing it towards them.

"Fuck this!" Yang turned and stormed away from Sun. Away from her. It was that fact that kept her from chasing Yang through the door. The assault on her senses may have been painful but to see Yang ploughing her way through the chairs in a bid to escape her presence hurt infinitely more.

But it also made her angry. Yang was the one in the wrong, not her. Yang was the one who was acting unreasonably. She was the one who needed to apologise. But Yang just wasn't thinking rationally at the moment.

With her blood raised, she'd expected her partner to have her back no matter what. And for perhaps the first time Blake hadn't.

Coco and Velvet perhaps sensed this too. They went hurrying after Yang instead leaving her to just watch their departure.

"Thanks Blake," she felt a gentle touch on the almost scalded skin of her arm and turned to see Sun standing close. "I don't know what her problem is."

Sun's fingertips sent burning lightning down her nerves. In the midst of everything she hadn't noticed just how much trying to restrain Yang's flaming body had burned her. Her Aura was already healing it, but the tight redness was still there.

"Anyway I don't want to talk about her." Sun pulled her in close and Blake loosely let herself be embraced. "I missed you so much. I didn't even know if you survived. I'm sorry for putting you through this today."

Blake's answer was on her lips when right at the foot of the stairs that led out of the secret lair, Yang glanced back. She saw Coco and Velvet, she saw the scattered furniture, but even from that distance Blake could see Yang's vision zero in on her. Her and Sun embracing.

Yang paused for an infinitesimally small moment that adorned itself on Blake's mind. Yang's eyes were alight with heated rage, but there was another emotion which was hotter than any other. It was a bonfire to the candle of her anger.

It was the inferno of jealousy.

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

Ruby's foot beat a staccato rhythm into the plush carpet of her bedroom floor. The kaleidoscope of butterflies in her stomach was as turbulent as it had been before any of her exams. If she wasn't certain her bowels were empty from the numerous times she had evacuated them this afternoon, the twisting pressure would have persuaded her to run to the toilet again.

She couldn't anyway. Not without undoing the last forty minutes of hard work. Well not hard work for her. She'd mainly been sitting or standing while Hazel and one of her colleagues from the dress shop flitted around her, applying the ridiculous number of layers that made up a ball gown.

It wasn't the first time she'd worn it since it had been delivered. Weiss had advised her to get used to moving in it, and it was just as well she had. It was unlike any other garment she'd worn. The layers upon layers of skirts hindered every movement of her legs, not that she would have been able to take large steps regardless. To begin with she'd almost twisted her ankles multiple times as she'd tottered around on strappy lapis heels that were an inch taller than any she'd worn before.

But like anything, if you were exposed to something enough it was possible to get used to it and Ruby had. Well, almost anything. The corset still aggressively resisted her attempts to become accustomed to it. She'd had to seriously ask Weiss whether people actually still wore them. It was simply beyond her belief that anyone would put themselves through that much discomfort just to alter their figure slightly, but apparently a lot of people did. To most pain was simply a part of fashion.

It probably hadn't helped that Weiss had apparently been reluctant to apply the corset all that tightly. It was a problem that Hazel didn't have; once again Ruby could feel her sides almost touching beneath its merciless embrace. It made her look good though, she had to admit that.

Weiss hadn't worn a strict corset on any of her dresses but then there was no need. Weiss was thin to the point of infirmity, though she had been eating better in the past few months she still hadn't put on all that much weight.

Ruby had. In her morose period, when she'd been suffering with depression and numerous other symptoms there had been little else for her to do in the apartment all day other than eat and mope. Her metabolism had ensured she hadn't ballooned in size, but when the haze had lifted the prodding of fingers into the soft flesh of her stomach had revealed much about the state she'd descended to.

In the weeks afterwards with regular visits to the gym most of the fat had been burned away. Thankfully not all though. Her gluttony had had the benefit of adding size to some of her womanly attributes. Attributes that she'd been starting to believe wouldn't grow at all. By no means were her breasts anywhere even remotely close to the size that Yang's had been at her age, but they were a lot more noticeable now. And in their more physical sessions Weiss seemed to be enjoying her new assets immensely.

But despite her efforts in the gym, her natural build was just larger than Weiss'. Weiss had the figure of a slender doll; one most would kill for. Her waist couldn't get much slimmer and even a corset wouldn't have had much of an effect. On Ruby it did. There was some fat that she was simply unable to burn despite her efforts, even with her hard abs subtly showing, she still had handles, and that was probably why most of the dresses she'd tried on had some mechanism of bringing her waist in.

Despite the numerous times Weiss had helped her don the dress, it still didn't feel natural. She didn't know how much it cost, apart from a lot. Every time she sat in a seat or practiced eating in a formal setting with Weiss waiting on her she'd been terrified of ruining it. Some of the material was so soft and frail it behaved more like a liquid than a solid; she knew it would only take the slightest tug to tear it. As clumsy as she normally was, every action seemed to carry risk.

But that wasn't the reason why her foot seemed to be bouncing of its own accord on the carpet. Today was the day she'd been dreading. Ever since agreeing to Winter's plan she'd had feet cold enough that it took all of her willpower not to back out her role.

Weiss hadn't helped at all. She'd done her best to tell her just what a large mistake she was making, informing her of every bad scenario that would happen to her. Weiss wasn't trying to be mean; behind the words it was only too clear just how scared Weiss was for her. But she hadn't changed her mind.

Winter had been certain that she could help. That she could unearth whatever plot was brewing in the upper classes of Atlas, and it had been that assurance that had stopped her backing out.

It didn't make her any less anxious though. If Weiss was here it would have helped, but true to her plan she'd departed to Pleiades several hours ago with Winter to close a business deal. They had a legitimate reason not to attend and leave her to go alone. After a few brief words of advice Winter had withdrawn to let Weiss say her goodbyes.

True to her upbringing Weiss hadn't cried, but she had made Ruby promise to be careful for what felt a dozen times and to call her if the slightest thing seemed wrong. In the end it had almost been a relief to finally say goodbye and see the door swing shut.

There had only been enough time for her to take a very thorough shower before Hazel and her colleague arrived. It was just as well, her repertoire didn't contain whatever superpowers Weiss must have to be able to get ready for a formal event by herself.

Hazel had helped her don the many different garments that made up the chosen outfit, but unlike before the preparation hadn't stopped there. Normally if she remembered, in the morning she'd brush her hair from the nest it became. That was about it. Apart from normal cleanliness and getting her highlights done she didn't do all that much to it.

Much to the disgust of Atelier. Her Dionese stylist had not been hesitant about informing her just how poorly she took care of it. The cost of his service was likely significant and he carried that in his presumptuousness. She might have been a paying client, but he obviously believed himself above her.

In his camp tone he provided Hazel a running commentary of just every problem he encountered. Ruby didn't think there was any malice behind his actions; she didn't take as much care of her hair as others did. But to see Hazel with her perfect hair smirking behind her hand still riled her.

It didn't really help that she didn't think all that much needed to be done. She liked her hair the way it was. If she grew it longer like Atelier insisted she  _simply must_ it would have only been a liability in a fight. She'd never understood how Weiss and Yang could go into such dangerous situations with their hair hanging down to their lower backs. It would only take something catching it to pull them off balance.

But when she'd weakly protested he'd just ignored her, pushing her back down and setting about his work. It had taken a significant amount of time to get into her dress, but she'd sat in the chair for what felt like far longer.

If there was a mirror and she could see what he was doing it would have made it tolerable, but there wasn't. Her only option was to sit silently and follow the walking of his fingers over her scalp. As the various implements pulled on her hair, she tried not to gag as aerosolised chemicals floated down.

With a final flourish Atelier stepped away from her and observed the product of the last hour. "Given what I've had to work with it's the best I can do. I'm booking you an appointment at my salon Ruby. I'm not a miracle worker. I need far longer than this."

"Stop being so hard on her and yourself," Hazel said from where she was idly perched on a table and swinging her legs. "She looks fantastic."

The differing opinions only roused the butterflies that had become dormant in her boredom. She didn't know who to believe. As she raised a hand to find out just what was perched on her head a comb rapped her across the knuckles with a speed that a huntsman would have been proud.

"Don't you dare! It's still setting." Atelier spoke from behind her.

Ruby pulled her smarting hand down and rubbed it vigorously. She just wanted to know what he'd done to her, but the moment she tried to stand Hazel pushed her back down.

"Ruby you're forgetting your makeup," Hazel sounded far too happy about an experience that was really beginning to sour for Ruby. Her calves were beginning to cramp from the lack of blood flow and her misshapen stomach was growling quietly.

Makeup was something she very rarely bothered with and then only in very small quantities. Judging by the huge box that seemed to have borrowed weapons technology to store for storing extendable trays of bottles and pads, Hazel was not going to be satisfied with a slight bit of eye shadow.

"Don't move," Hazel painted lines of several different shades of foundation onto her hand and held it next to Ruby's cheek. After deciding which one matched best, she started layering it onto her flesh.

As she sat there, perfectly still, having Hazel gently rub sweet smelling makeup into her flesh, she was oddly reminded of when Weiss or Yang had done this for her. In some ways it was ever so similar, the hesitancy and apprehension, but in others it was different.

Yang had approached the task like a big sister. She'd been determined to make her look beautiful but Yang tended to be slightly heavier handed with her makeup. Weiss was much subtler, only applying the bare essentials to bring out what she said was her natural beauty. Of course having Weiss touch her face made it very hard to keep her mind off of other activities that would undo all of Weiss' hard work.

Hazel seemed to be somewhere in between. Unlike with her hair, Hazel asked for her opinion when deciding between the different shades. She didn't always agree and overrode her suggestion more times than not, but the interaction distracted her from the thoughts of just why she was having makeup applied.

By the time that Hazel had finished, Ruby's legs had gone to sleep and she almost stumbled when Hazel helped her stand. She made to stagger her way over to the bathroom to finally see her reflection but Hazel stopped her.

"You'll want to wait for the finishing touches." Hazel returned moments later with bicep-length gloves and a silk shawl, both light blue and white to match the dress, and a necklace which was beset with spinel gemstones.

With its weight tickling the skin of her neck she was finally able to walk into the bathroom and was reintroduced to the same foreign creature that had been in the dress shop mirror, only more so. In the time since she'd believed she'd gotten used to the sight of her in the dress. That belief could not have been further from the truth.

The dress was only part of the whole. All the times she'd worn it to get used to its bulk, she hadn't done anything with the rest of her body. She'd liked how it looked on her, but for the most part it had still looked like her only in a fancy dress.

Now she barely recognised her face. It started with her hair; Atelier had worked a miracle. Despite her protestations when he'd said her hair was dead, he'd been right, and his skilful hands had brought it to life.

Her hair had been parted at the side and drawn across to the other which was bedecked with elegant curls that stood out like a wave breaking. The sapphire barrettes which she'd tried on in the store were being used not only practically to pin her hair but artistically as well, complementing its shape.

Hazel had applied the makeup with as much skill as Weiss normally did. From this distance she could barely tell there was any there at all. Instead her eyes seemed to sparkle of their own accord, her cheeks were ever so slightly flushed as if she were excited, and her lips stood out with natural vibrancy.

It almost looked and she hesitated to even think it, like she could have been on the cover of a magazine. That was a thought for people like Weiss ̶ ̶ who had been multiple times ̶ ̶ and for Yang who undoubtedly could have been. Not her. But the girl in the mirror wouldn't have looked at all out of place.

She felt beautiful, and her only wish was that Weiss could have been here to see it. Hazel had apparently picked up on the reason for the frown that had appeared.

"Do you want me to take some photos?" Ruby nodded. "Well come out into the bedroom then and stand by the window."

She did as instructed only then noticing that the cityscape beyond the glass had transitioned to a sea of lights. With her heart racing she sought the bedside clock and was sure it had to be wrong. It was five thirty, Hazel and Atelier had arrived just after midday. How had it taken her five entire hours to get dressed?

"Yes right there. Smile." Hazel said and Ruby tried to do as instructed, but she'd never been all that good at forcing one. It always looked unnatural to her eyes, and obviously did to Hazel's as well.

"Come on you can do better than that. You're going to a ball, the food, the dancing, the dresses. I've always wanted to go to one and you look incredible. Think of what your friends will say when they see the photos."

That last past at least did bring a semblance of a real smile to her face. She wanted to be able to give Weiss the perfect memento of this evening, and if she wasn't able to be here a photo would have to do.

"There you go," Hazel said snapping away with Ruby's scroll. "Turn to the side a bit, no keep looking this way, just turn your hips. That's it."

The impromptu photo session carried on for another few minutes and by the end Ruby was beginning to get into it. Hazel just had an attitude that was infectious. It wasn't really surprising for someone who worked in one of the most exclusive shops in the city; she must have been hired as much for her people skills as her other talents. Unfortunately the session was brought to a close by a message popping up on the scroll she was using.

"Your driver's here." Ruby's nerves flared up to previously unmatched heights. "Ruby believe me, you'll have fun. Go and knock them all dead."

* * *

 

Fun was the last thing on her mind as she sat on the plush seat in the back of the luxury SUV that had been sent to pick her up. She was waiting in a queue of equally expensive cars. Out of the tinted window she could see the brilliantly lit estate of House Laven.

After half an hour spent under the sterile lights of a highway Ruby was unprepared for just how bright the estate was. It had been visible from miles away, a shining beacon throwing light up at the clouds that gathered overhead. A statement for everyone attending.

That was what Weiss had told her was the main reason for all the noble's holding balls. Every lien they spent frivolously on decorations or food was one that they clearly didn't need. Every house tried to showcase just why they were deserving of their standing in the hierarchy of houses, or perhaps why they deserved to be higher.

The estate itself was located outside of Atlas. Like all the ancestral homes of the noble families it had initially been built at the centre of the lands that their family governed. But there was another reason they were choosing to host their ball here rather than in the buildings they owned on the main city.

Though they were nominally allies of the Schnees no one liked being shown up again and again. The nobles were too proud. In the city they would have had to compete with the Eiszapfen. Out here surrounded by snow-covered fields they only had to compete with themselves.

The estate was certainly pretty enough. The huge lights that had been visible from the road were at the centre of every ornate garden. The hardy plants and flowers appeared as though they were covered in shimmering crystals.

Every facet of the building itself was covered in artistic carvings and strategically placed lamps of varying shades. Ruby knew that a proper noble shouldn't gawk, but then again she wasn't a noble. She couldn't help but think that if this was one of the lesser house's estates, just how grand was the Schnee's? Every time she thought she had come to terms with just how rich Weiss was, there was always another layer.

As they crawled ever closer along the gravel and snow covered drive to the area where people were disembarking she forced her face away from the window. She had to be normal, she had to seem like she belonged.

Ruby resisted the urge to pick at her dress. She just wanted something to distract herself. It was impossible to remain nervous all the time, the butterflies in her stomach had gone through periods of rest, but in the indomitable wait they were the most active they had been. With Weiss sitting next to her it might have been fun, being dressed up all like this, but on her own she was seriously considering telling her driver to turn around.

The option was being weighed up in her mind when the car door opened. A footman wearing a neat black and red uniform stood on the other side and held out his hand. Ruby accepted it almost automatically, trying with as much grace as possible to pull the frilled, bulky bottom of her dress out of the car. As she descended she was thankful for the footman's steadying hand and she finally realised just why it was expected for a man to help a woman from a vehicle. It wasn't a silly custom after all; the clothing was the silly part.

But as soon as she was safely down, the almost comforting grip was released and he stepped neatly to the side as though he expected her to do something. With a start she realised he was waiting for her to move out of the way so he could close the door. She nodded her thanks to him, which almost seemed to take him by surprise, before drawing in a breath as deep as she were able and starting forward.

Her car had deposited her on a red carpet under an awning which kept most of the swirling flurries of snow at bay. The few that made it onto the carmine material where quickly swept up by the waiting staff.

The staff weren't the only people on the carpet however, the guests that had exited the prior cars were making their way towards the doors and even from behind their appearance caused all her uncertainties to grow anew.

Back in the apartment she might have believed she looked beautiful, but she was just faking it. They were the real thing. The ladies wore their dresses like they actually belonged and most had hair flowing in gentle waves down to the small of their backs. Long hair was obviously fashionable at that moment and she felt a flash of anger at no one having told her. There was a lot less variation amongst the men, they almost all wore black suits cut to the straight lines of their bodies. They were the perfect inverse of the curves of their partners.

That was the other thing she noticed. Everyone in front of her had arrived with someone else. With the balls used to form alliances and business deals she'd expected it but not to this extent. The lack of someone by her side only made her stand out more.

A high-pitched giggle sounded from behind her and she turned around to see the pair that had arrived behind her. They were both staring, their eyes roving up and down her body and the girl had her mouth hidden behind a slender pale hand.

 _They were laughing at her_. Trying to swallow her embarrassment she retreated towards the doors as her cheeks heated up. Now in motion the difference between her and the others only became more apparent. Her steps were no way near as graceful as the ladies and they looked comfortable in their gowns. Not like her who had to hold up the front of hers to avoid tripping on it with her heels. Her hands began to sweat inside her silky, blue white gloves.

She forced herself to continue, presenting her invitation to the doormen who waved her inside. The foyer was lit brightly and the first strands of music from the main hall became audible. There were a number of other guests milling around and as she entered, all their eyes turned on her.

 _What am I doing_? she thought frantically. She was a huntress. She could face down packs of Beowolves, shoot a thrown apple out of the air at a hundred yards, virtually disappear in a cloud of rose petals, and wield one of the most dangerous weapons ever invented. Yet, these noblemen and women terrified her.

She kept her hands clasped tightly in front of her to attempt to disguise their shaking and carried on walking, hoping to find a corner she could hide in. Away from all their gazes. At heart she'd always been a shy person, she normally tried to avoid drawing attention to herself in unfamiliar circumstances, and yet here there may as well have been a spotlight on her.

All of the lessons Weiss and her dancing master had tried to impose were evaporating as surely as her perspiration. Names, customs, what the hell she was meant to be doing? They were all vaporous and slipped from her grasp.

Even after the ones following her had entered the eyes didn't move onto them. A ripple of uncertainty passed around the room. As all the people watched her walk, they leant into each other and whispered. But they weren't discussing her appearance, instead they were discussing her.

In a society that met as regularly as the nobles of Atlas, everyone knew everyone else, by reputation if not by sight. But here was someone new. Behind their hands and into ears, the aristocrats gathered around held rapid debates on just who she was.

Ruby picked up on the air of confusion but was unaware of its reason. The frantic whispers all around only fanned the flames of her agitation. She carried on walking; only hoping to get out of the middle of it all. At a sedate pace which was the best she could manage stably in the heels and the dress, the foyer seemed unbearably long.

She resisted the urge to turn when she heard someone to the side whisper  _Rose._  Her name spread like wildfire around the room and before long  _Schnee_  accompanied it. If she'd found their gazes uncomfortable beforehand, the revelation only intensified them.

Most now had pleasant and warm smiles that almost seemed to beckon her over. Few wanted the animosity of someone who held an association with a Schnee. Most, but not all, some of them had outright hostility on their faces. But the ones who she tried to ignore completely were the ones who were looking as though they'd just been presented a neatly wrapped present.

If she'd been in a better frame of mind they were the ones she should have been making a note of. The ones who would try and use her, but the shortness of breath in her lungs was seriously starting to impair her thoughts. Ruby just wanted to get out of there.

After what seemed an eternity she made it through the foyer to the doors of the main hall proper. After the grand entrance way it was almost a disappointment. It didn't try to impose by its sheer size instead trying to impress through artistry. She'd entered near the top and it wasn't rectangular like most rooms. Instead it was circular, each level was a few feet lower than the last, and it afforded the entire room a view of the dance floor in the centre.

On all the different levels were candlelit tables, most set for about a dozen, but a few were romantically positioned near the great windows showing off the illuminated gardens. The soft murmur of conversations from those already sitting and the live string orchestra gave it an almost cosy atmosphere.

Or it would have, if her entrance wasn't greeted by another wall of the stares. In the right circles gossip can move faster than a bullet, and the nobles of Atlas had reduced gossip to an art form. Everyone knew who she was, she could see it.  _How had she thought she was cut out for this?_

It was worse than being surrounded by a pack of Grimm. At least then she would have known what they would try and do to her. It was so hot in the room, almost like a sauna, and her head span. If only she could breathe, but the bones of her corset dug painfully into her at every attempt.

She needed air, some fresh cool air. Away from them. On her next step the point of her heel slipped. Her ankle rolled and she stumbled, colliding with a woman in front of her.

A strong firm hand gripped her bicep and with the assistance Ruby just managed to avoid doing what she'd dreaded. Her rescuer was wearing a deep blue dress, like everyone in sight she was beautiful, though in a more mature sort of way, and had a curtain of blonde cascading down her back in delicate curls.

"Sorry," Ruby said stepping to the side to get out of the way, but the woman moved her hand until it rested gently on her forearm.

"The fault is mine. I hadn't realised you'd arrived. Good evening Ruby, I'm Lobelia Wache," her voice was as cultured as any around.

But Ruby didn't know why the woman seemed to believe her name should mean something. Desperately she racked her brain, trying to recover the houses that had been lost to her but she was unable to locate  _Wache_. "I'm sorry I don't…"

A frown appeared on Lady Wache's features. "The idiot," she muttered under her breath. "Let me guess, in all the times my husband has spoken to you he entirely neglected to introduce himself properly? Let alone mention me? I guess I'll have to do it then. I'm unfortunate enough to be married to Lord Erashan Wache," the insult was said with a hint of a smile.

"Lord?" Ruby said quietly. Were they talking about the same person, surely a lord would be more… grandiose than Winter's bodyguard.

Lobelia shook her head. "Sometimes that man drives me to the edge of reason." She leant in closer so the people nearby couldn't overhear, "Weiss asked me to help you get acclimatised. It can all be a bit overwhelming. You should have seen me the first time I attended one of these balls. Though that was many moons ago now, not that they're all that much different. We tend to move slower than continental drift when it comes to change."

Ruby's mind focused on the name in the middle of the small talk.  _Weiss._  Weiss hadn't believed she could do this. Weiss had gone behind her back and arranged someone to keep her out of trouble. It pissed her off.

Weiss had been ardently against her attending by herself, but in the end it had been her decision. She wanted to do something to help Weiss, and here was Weiss trying to make sure she couldn't. And the worst thing was Weiss had almost been justified. Almost.

Her anger had displaced the panic. Somewhere in here was someone who wanted to hurt Weiss, and it was her job to find them. And more importantly prove to Weiss she wasn't a child who needed protecting.

 _Fine_. Everyone expected to see a young, immature girl who was clearly out of her depth, and that is exactly what they would see.  _Ruby Rose_ , the friend to the Schnee. Not Ruby Rose the huntress. This would be a fight unlike any she'd fought before. It would be fought with words not bullets, but she'd achieved far more in her life than they had.

What did they do, after all? Sit in a mansion and attend these balls every week. They shouldn't scare her. What did they know of fear? Had they faced down Grimm? Knights? Had they seen the death of a city? They didn't have half of her strength.

Ruby met the eyes of the nearest group of women, the ones who'd been whispering loudest and discovered something. With her new frame of mind it almost didn't seem like they were seeing her at all. They studied her dress, her jewellery, her hair. The men saw the neckline and her makeup, but they didn't see her.

They only saw the Ruby who'd attended the ball. The face she'd put on. The one who would faint like everyone else in here at the sight of a Nevermore. The one she wanted them to see.

And suddenly, her tension began to retreat. Butterflies still swirled in her stomach, but the heat that had almost made her pass out had dissipated. Weiss had sent someone to help her and as much as it annoyed her, she still didn't have all that much idea about what she should be doing?

"He never did mention his last name," Ruby said with a shaky smile.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me."

"So uhh… what do I do now?" Ruby asked looking around.

"There's a table reserved for you if you desire something to eat, or you can skip straight to dancing."

Ruby was suddenly aware of the rumblings in her stomach; she'd barely had any lunch due to her nerves. Not that she'd be able to eat all that much anyway with how her midsection was being reduced to a fraction of its normal volume. "No, food sounds good."

"Of course. You'll need to build up your energy for later. I'm sure there will be a queue of boys lining up for your hand. The gown suits you marvellously; you simply must tell me where you bought it."

Lobelia carried the conversation as she moved away, saying ten words for every one of Ruby's. Ruby followed her on one of the glittering black walkways that wove between the white clothed tables. Her presence still drew the eye, but hidden behind her dress, they didn't affect her quite as much as they had.

"The table will mark you as single. As soon as you finish eating suitors will begin to approach." Lobelia said standing next to a table on one of the middle levels.

Gingerly Ruby took her seat, trying to imitate Weiss' posture as best she could. It was all well and good believing in herself, but how would she react when she actually had to speak to someone who might be plotting against Weiss?

Thankfully Lobelia lowered herself in the opposite chair. "So what will you have?"

Ruby picked up the engraved black and white menu and tried to read it.  _Tried_ because most of the dishes seemed to be in another language. It was just the same whenever she'd eaten out with Weiss. The more expensive a place was, the more indecipherable its menu appeared, and here was no different.

Lobelia smiled and Ruby was grateful that the table offered them a degree of shrouded privacy as her cheeks flared. "I would have to recommend the venison. It's the Laven's speciality dish."

"Yeah that's what I was thinking." Now alerted to its presence Ruby located it in the middle of a string of jumbled groups of letters that couldn't possibly be real words.

Lobelia raised her hand and only a moment later a servant appeared and departed just as quickly taking Ruby's shawl with her. Lobelia asked her a few polite questions about herself, but seemed content to let Ruby look around. Though the table kept most of the prying eyes away she could still see the couples and groups of people on the walkways, any jewellery they were wearing shimmering in the lights from underfoot.

And none of them failed to have a look at her. If Winter's plan had been for her to get noticed it had certainly worked. She had to work hard to avoid sinking down in her chair.

Her meal arriving afforded her some measure of distraction though the waiter only placed a glass of wine in front of Lobelia who answered the unasked question. "I've already eaten, and as delightful as it was, I no longer have the metabolism of youth."

Ruby nodded, carefully picking up her literal silver cutlery. Thankfully the waiter had removed the most of those that had been laid out, leaving only the ones she had in her hand and smaller utensils that she recognised were meant for dessert.

Even though she knew she was hungry and it smelt great, now sitting down she didn't really feel it. Her posture combined with her corset seemed to crush the last remaining space from her stomach.

After swallowing the first morsel she decided to risk a question of her companion who was just watching her over her glass. "I don't mean to be rude but Erashan doesn't really seem like a lord."

Lobelia's laugh was like a crystal glass being struck. "You could say that. You should see him whenever I drag him to one of these. He scares half of the attendees to death and who knows what he does to the other half. No, I don't think he ever really wanted to be a lord."

"So he married into your family?"

"No, he's a Wache by birth. You could say I married down. House Wache isn't as wealthy as it has been in the past. But I have two older brothers. I didn't have to marry for my family. As old fashioned as it may seem I was able to marry for love. After some negotiation with my parents of course. The Waches may not be wealthy, but they are the closest to the Schnees, if any house could be called close, and that was enough to sway my parents.

"Of course  _Lord Schnee_  didn't even bother to attend our wedding," Lobelia wasn't able to keep the disdain out of her voice. "But then he just doesn't care. He would have brought the mood down anyway; he makes a party seem like a funeral. He sent Winter and Weiss though, even if they were only seven. They seemed to enjoy it." She had a distant smile on her face as she walked through her memories.

Ruby smiled as well just trying to imagine what Weiss would have been like as a seven year old. Strangely the mental image she conjured was not of Weiss happy but instead her standing there with her hands balled up at her sides and an adorable scowl on her face. The same look Weiss still got whenever things didn't quite go her way.

"Was he the lord when you married him?" Ruby said in between bites.

The small lines at the corners of Lobellia's eyes turned up in confusion. "I guess you wouldn't know," she said more to herself. "No back then he was just the heir to the title. But he was much happier working security than he ever was in an office. He likes snow underneath his boots and fresh air in his lungs.

"His father was the lord and that was probably why they had so many arguments. He wanted Erashan to follow in his footsteps to sit on the board of the SDC. They loved each other but it was always a point of contention between them." The thought brought an air of deep sadness to her features.

"He used to get me to try and persuade Erashan to give it all up. Do something safe. At heart he was just worried about him, just like his mother. But in the end it was my father in law who was in the most danger.

"He was a director, and that made him the perfect target for the White Fang. It was one of their first violent operations and proper security measures weren't in place. They abducted him, sent a ransom demand, and then, when Arian wouldn't pay..." Lobelia didn't finish her sentence.

Ruby's fork froze halfway to her mouth, surrounded by colourful dresses, babbling conversation, and music, she didn't know how her questions had led such a dark path. Weiss had told her that board members had been executed but she'd never expected to meet the family of one.

It was just another crime to add to the long list of the ones perpetrated by the White Fang. In the grand scheme of things a death wasn't much. But every death was one more than should have occurred. It was only too clear the pain it had caused Lobelia, and maybe it explained Erashan's overly neutral visage.

"Well this is hardly a suitable topic of conversation for dinner," Lobelia tried to lighten the heavy mood and a mischievous grin manifested itself. "Tell me is there anyone here who takes your fancy?"

Ruby almost choked and narrowly avoided splattering the expensive material of her dress. Lobelia was simply too old to ask that question with that glint in her eye. It suggested all kinds of things.

"I'll take that as a yes. Tell me who he is and I'll see if I can set some gears in motion."

"No," Ruby coughed again, "No, there's no one."

"Well there's still plenty of time. As they say, the night is yet young."

* * *

 

Ruby sat primly in her chair, waiting. Lobelia had departed just as desert arrived saying she had business to attend to. In the end Ruby was glad that she had been there. The ball likely would have been entirely overwhelming if not for the assistance, and annoyingly she could feel her anger toward Weiss thawing slightly.

Still the dinner was the easy part. Though Lobelia had proved an entertaining companion, telling her all sorts of amusing stories about when Weiss was a child, such a staunch ally of the Schnees wasn't the kind of person that she needed to investigate. On all the different tiers of the hall there were numerous groups talking. Should she just walk up and introduce herself?

Ruby was still trying to decide when the decision was taken out of her hands. A few brief moments after her plate had been cleared away a young man approached her table. He was about her age or maybe a little younger with slicked back dark hair and wearing a tight-fitting suit.

"Miss Ruby Rose. I am Ebene Haser. Would you care to dance?" he said with a bow. That was surprising. On a social scale, despite who her friends were, to most who could trace their bloodlines back generations she was far below them and yet he had shown her respect.

Though she'd been expecting the invitation, her mind still hadn't quite formulated an answer. Was she meant to dance with just anyone or should she wait? Judging by his accent he was from around Atlas. That should make him friendly right? Or did that make him one of the primary people she should be looking for?

Once again she was left lamenting letting Winter talk her into this. While her brain had run through all the possible scenarios her suitor had been waiting for an answer.

"Umm, sure." It took all if her self-restraint to not to slam a palm against her forehead. In the world of pageantry that was the Atlesian high society the lack of eloquence in her response to the proposition showed her roots.

In truth it had been obvious she wouldn't be able to fit in here. Even when asleep Weiss had more refinement in her left leg than Ruby had in her entire body. It was an act that she simply wouldn't be able to maintain. So why bother? Everyone knew who she was, so why not give them what they expected? A commoner from Vale who had been given the rare opportunity to spend time among her betters.

Someone in that situation would be overawed by what they experienced. Brief lapses of etiquette would be sneered about behind raised hands, but would be expected from a peasant. And certainly no one would expect someone like that to be capable of uncovering any plots against the Schnees.

The colour flaring in her cheeks enhanced the new role she'd decided to play. To his credit Ebene didn't mention the blunder but instead held out his hand. Her own felt slick inside its glove as she took it.

It was all very well deciding not to try and completely replicate how everyone around her was acting, but if she screwed up on the dance floor the mortification she'd feel would be very real. Not to mention how she was sure it would somehow come back to hurt Weiss.

After so long sitting still the muscles in her legs ached and she was glad of the support the proffered hand offered. When she'd recover her balance she daintily clutched his forearm, imitating what the couples around her were doing.

If her desire had been not to have an audience, her wishes went unanswered. As she'd found out previously her attendance seemed to be the most interesting that had happened so far that evening and steadily an ever increasing number of people turned to watch.

Surprisingly her own nerves were mirrored in her partner. As the scrutiny increased his step became more and more unsure. Beads of sweat began to gather on his brow.

But it was only as they came abreast of a table where a dozen ladies were sitting did he swallow. Rather than act individually they all seemed to follow the lead of the one sitting at the head.

They'd all obviously spent just as long as her on their appearance but the leader had an inherent poise that transcended physicality. Ruby found her attention graduating toward her as inexorably as her body gravitated towards the planet.

The woman's sable framed face gave nothing away, but the one on her immediate left frowned towards Ruby's partner. A calculated sign of the group's distaste for his actions. And even in the soft light Ruby saw him blanch.

Ruby was left wondering if her partner hadn't known quite who she was. In her paranoia it seemed everyone was staring at her, but that wasn't actually the case. He knew her name sure, but maybe he'd just seen a cute girl and decided to ask her to dance. Entirely unaware of the interest surrounding her attendance. He seemed nervous and young enough for that to have been the case, but now even aware that he'd made some mistake he had no choice but to follow through with his actions.

Their shoes hit the gleaming wooden dance in full view of everyone in the room almost simultaneously. Thankfully they weren't the only ones on display. A number of other couples were either breathing heavily in the temporary interlude of music or making their way to an empty spot.

As Ebene led her to their own clearing Ruby's nerves peaked but strangely so did her anticipation. This was what she'd spent the last few weeks practising for. This was why she'd suffered through every playful insult and reminding strike her dancing master subjected her to. All so she wouldn't embarrass Weiss. Admittedly she'd thought she'd be dancing with Weiss not Ebene who was now sweating more than she was, but the principal was the same.

In her whirlwind education on formal dancing they'd only had time to cover the more common routines, but Cyrano had insisted they were the ones she was most likely to encounter. His wisdom proved true as the couples around them began adopting familiar positions.

The orchestra struck the first hanging chords and all around her colour came to life. The dresses and gowns may have been pretty when stationary, but primarily they were tailored for dancing. As Ruby took her first energetic step her bulky skirts, which were so annoying to walk in, flared outwards.

In the ever increasing strains of the music she forgot the weight of the dress, forgot the pressing bands of the corset, even forget the unsteadiness of her footwear, and instead let her body move in the motions Cyrano had taught. Just like with Weiss on the rooftop, it was easier when she didn't think about it. After all when fighting she didn't contemplate every swing of Crescent Rose, she just did what felt natural.

Unfortunately no one appeared to have told Ebene that. The sweat from his palms was starting to seep through her gloves and his body was rigid as he looked down at their feet. Now on the dance floor he seemed far more nervous than she was, and it was unlikely that it all stemmed from the reaction to him asking her to dance.

There were very few people at the ball younger than Ruby was. It was meant to be refined event that would likely be ruined children running around. It was possible that this was in fact Ebene's first ball or at least the first time he'd worked up the courage to take to the floor.

"Ebene look at me," Ruby said as their steps brought them close together, "Don't focus on the moves. My dancing master said you should just let them come to you."

As he ceased his observation and met her eyes he blushed. It must have been embarrassing for him to be corrected by a foreigner, but it would be more embarrassing if they fell. Already she'd had to use her honed reflexes to keep them upright and he wasn't leading as he was meant to be doing.

"Where is your family from?" Ruby asked to try and distract him.

The question worked. As he began to talk about his home his stilted movements relaxed. He still didn't move with the assurance she'd become used to from Cyrano or Weiss, but he had at least stopped looking down and had retaken the lead.

As they moved more fluidly they were no longer a couple dancing, but one part of much larger machine. Most of the dances of Atlesian society were meant to be performed by large groups. The steps she'd learned in an empty room sent them on collision courses with other couples and only averted disaster by the narrowest margins.

It was only while being in the middle of it all did all strange châinés make sense. Her dress came close enough to brush up against other blooming domes of material as they spun intricately between the other partners. Caught up in the music and the exertion she found herself grinning. She was part of something that was undoubtedly beautiful. Something that had evolved over centuries into a spectacle of fluid colours.

One by one the musicians ceased to play until only the ethereal sounds of a violin sonata and the accompanying piano rang in the crystal-clear acoustics of the room. In lieu of the frantic crescendo of dancing, the partners came close once more, now doing little more than rotating on the spot, everyone breathing more harshly.

Ebene was visibly panting, but there was much more assurance in grip on her hand. Ruby stared into his hazel eyes. Though her first proper dance would always be the one with Weiss on the moonlit rooftop, and she would treasure that particular memory forever, this one was special too. She'd been so nervous beforehand, but right at this moment, with blood rushing through her veins, she felt so alive. It was no wonder the nobles liked to host these balls so often. The entire atmosphere was intoxicating.

"Ebene," Ruby spoke with her lips next to his ear and her nose filled with the light scent of his exertion, "Who was that woman we saw on the way down, the one with the dark hair?"

Ebene twitched but thankfully didn't lose the flow of the dance. If Ruby needed confirmation of the importance of that woman, his reaction was it. Despite the vagueness of her question he didn't ask for her to narrow it down. "That's Lady Lunaria, heiress to House Estrella."

Estrella. Trying to keep abreast of the tangle of Atlesian houses was almost impossible, but that was one Ruby recognised. Back in Vale it had been a part of her everyday life. If you went to a supermarket, it was very likely you'd have packages stamped with the Estrella logo in your basket. In terms of wealth they were almost spoken about in the same breath as the Schnees. They didn't hold a monopoly and in fact subsidiaries of the SDC were some of their biggest competitors, but Atlas supplied food to the majority of the world. Even a small market share was significant and the Estrella's slice wasn't small.

Ruby kept prodding him for more information but he was as green as she'd thought. He'd only attended a couple of balls before and though he knew the names of the ladies around the table, he knew nothing that would be valuable to Weiss or Winter. Still he'd helped her overcome her nerves of the dance floor. It was always good to have someone around she felt more comfortable talking to.

As the last fluttering cries of the violin dissolved into silence Ruby released her grip on Ebene's hand and dropped into a low curtsey in response to his bow. The moment the formalities were finished, there was a round of light applause from some of those nearest the dance floor. They'd been treated to a spectacle, but it was a spectacle that they had likely seen hundreds, if not thousands, of times before.

"I think I need a drink. What can I get for you?" Ebene said gesturing her to tables. Most of those on the dance floor were leaving to be replaced by fresher couples. The routine they'd gone through ̶ ̶ a dance representing the life of the hero it was an obituary for ̶ ̶ was one of the most strenuous Ruby knew and it had taken its toll. If not for the corset and the heels she would have flown through it, but right now under the many heavy layers of her dress, a drink sounded particularly refreshing.

"You're very good at dancing, Ruby."

"You're just being kind. I've only been learning a few weeks."

Ebene looked somewhat taken aback. "Really?" Ruby nodded and he blushed bright red. "I couldn't tell. You're so… graceful."

She almost laughed. Graceful was an adjective one applied to Weiss not her. She was a klutz who sometimes managed to trip over her own feet. But maybe comparing herself to Weiss wasn't entirely fair. Weiss had honed her body to perfection in pursuit of her goals. Most here hadn't undergone the rigorous training required to become a huntress. They couldn't leap through the air and balance on a Beowolf's snout before decapitating it.

Now that she thought about it, shouldn't it have taken her longer to learn to dance? Though Cyrano wasn't the type to offer praise, normally he only needed to show her something once to mostly get the hang of it. Perhaps dancing and combat ̶ ̶ which she found so natural ̶ ̶ shared more attributes than she'd initially thought.

"Thank you," Ruby said partly in answer to the praise and partly due to the glass of amber that was now chilling her hand.

"I still can't believe you agreed to dance with me. When I saw you I lost the ability to think, and you're so nice, and interesting, and…"

 _Wait, was he hitting on her?_  Ruby thought to herself as Ebene continued to speak. She didn't have much experience to base it on. She was not the sort of girl that guys propositioned, and her relationship with Weiss had started very differently. But even she could deduce the meaning behind the myriad of compliments.

For the second time that evening, Ruby didn't know what to say. She liked Ebene. He seemed nice. She was almost sure his motives were entirely innocent, but she was already in a relationship. One that Winter had succinctly banned her from admitting to. But she didn't want to burn what tentative bridges she'd managed to build with someone her own age by refusing him completely.

"Ebene! Come here." A deep voice barked from behind her.

A man and a woman stood there. From their features it wasn't a broad leap of faith to come to the conclusion they were Ebene's parents. His father sounded angry about something, and as soon as Ebene reached them, they whisked him out of her line of sight.

Those who saw started whispering to their neighbours about this new bit of gossip and Ruby was left with her unspoken response to his compliments on her tongue. The heat of the gazes of the gossipers was intense.

It was her fault. Ebene hadn't known just who she was, but his parents had obviously found out. Their family was far too small to be caught between the Schnees and whoever sought to harm them. The face of Lunaria rose in her mind, it had to have been her. But now Ebene was out of the way, what would be her next move?

"Miss Rose, would you care to dance?"

* * *

 

Ruby sat down heavily at the most secluded and, more importantly, deserted table she could find. Her feet were killing her and she was seriously considering setting fire to the ties of her corset to remove it.

The last… she didn't rightly know how many hours but the moon was high in the sky, had been spent in a confused blur of twirling and talking. It turned out that plenty of guys were not afraid to ask her to dance, and plenty were far less charming than Ebene had been.

Some had no hesitation in showing her just how far they thought she was below them. Their bows at the end of the routine were barely more than nods, and yet they had still expected her to cling to their arms as they paraded her before their friends.

After the first few times she'd simply walked off, the behaviour of the following suitors had improved dramatically. But it was all an act. In between the spins, or when they stood recovering, they always found a way to steer the conversation towards Weiss.

They were good at it, that was true, and if she hadn't been analysing their words so carefully she would have missed it. With great subtlety they wanted to know how they'd become friends? What did she like, dislike? How was she doing now? And the more self-assured tried to fish for any angle they could use to gain an advantage on her.

Though she'd mentally added them to the ever-growing list of names in her head, she didn't think they were quite the ones Winter was looking for. They were just too obvious in their motives. The ones she'd payed special attention to were the ones who'd asked the more obscure questions about Weiss, the ones where Ruby was unable to see anything to gain for them.

Most of the time she had changed the topic, however clumsily, and they hadn't complained. They only kept on complimenting her and plying her with drinks. They all seemed to be conspiring to get her drunk, no matter how many glasses of wine she left untouched on the various tables around the room.

It seemed to be the norm for some. As the evening had worn on, some had only grown louder and redder in the face. Those were the nobles who mainly attended for fun, those who used the balls for their advantage only drank sparingly.

But even if they didn't manage to get her drunk, they had managed to exhaust her. It only took one partner to leave her momentarily for another to leap in and proposition her. She hadn't wanted to turn any of them down, not when that person might have been the one who wanted to hurt Weiss. It was a risk she simply couldn't take.

As she propped her aching feet on the chair opposite in a completely unladylike way she was left feeling like she'd danced with the entirety of the male population of Atlas. If someone had told her a couple of months ago that she could get sore from dancing she would have laughed in their face. Now she knew better. Even her Aura wasn't able to entirely remove the lactic acid from her strained muscles.

But in the remote corner that didn't even have a view of the dance floor she was able to process what she'd learnt. Not a lot was the summation. Sure she learnt the history of dozens of families, the likes and dislikes of her partners, but that was a far cry from discovering the plot Winter was sure existed.

Ruby blew out her cheeks and wiped a curl of hair that had gotten free from her sodden brow. It was harder than she'd thought it would be. When she'd volunteered her thoughts had only been about protecting Weiss and finally being useful. But right now, she felt like she was struggling through a thick forest. Her mind was entirely devoid of a method of deducing the undercurrents of the Atlesian nobility.

"You see this is what happens when you leave your nice quiet table to go and get a drink."

She jumped at the voice. The speaker was tall and bronzed. His dark hair fell in tousled curls to his shoulders. After seeing so many men in suits his appearance was shabby. He wore the pants and the shirt, but the top three buttons were undone revealing the top of a hairless chest and his sleeves were rolled up, exposing the iron bands of muscle beneath his forearms. His discarded jacket and tie were resting on the back of a chair.

Ruby was temporarily unable to think. He was quite possibly the most handsome person she'd ever seen in the flesh. He was the sort of young man that fathers of teenage daughters would shoot on sight, hers included.

"You come back and find your favourite spot has been stolen by a pretty girl," he said sitting down.

Her cheeks flushed. She loved Weiss, but the possible sincerity behind his remark sent her heart racing.

"Do you know how rude it is to put your feet on a chair?"

"Sorry," Ruby pulled her legs off the cushion quick enough that it could have been scalding hot. But any other reaction was curtailed by his feet taking up the now vacated seat. He let out a contented sigh.

"Hey, I thought you said it was rude?"

"Oh it is, dreadfully so. Unfortunately for you I'm not much of a gentleman, as I'm sure my parents would be only too willing to attest to. A true gentleman would leave a lady to her quiet reflection and find another table. But I like this one, so I guess we'll just have to share it. Unless that is you fancy leaving?"

"No I was here first… sort of." Oddly she felt at ease in his company. Maybe it was just because he was so different to everyone else. He even seemed… normal.

"Shame, I guess we're stuck with each other then." He raised his glass, "To quiet corners."

Ruby took a sip of her water in response while watching him but rather than attempt to talk to her he just pulled out his phone. She waited for a moment but he was entirely absorbed by the article. He didn't even shoot her occasional furtive glances.

 _Was he just going to ignore her?_  Her annoyance rose, he'd interrupted her thoughts and now he was apparently pretending she didn't exist.

"What are you reading?" she asked.

He paused for a moment before looking at her. "Something dreadfully boring I'm afraid. The ballistic profiles of Dust enhanced rounds compared to their contemporary counterparts." He mistook the look on her face. "Yeah I know. I'm a nerd. That's why I normally find somewhere out of the way."

"What matrix are they using?" Ruby felt herself light up inside. If there was one topic in the world where she'd consider herself something of an expert, weaponry was it.

His eyes widened. "I'm sorry?"

"Normally I prefer to use a vinyl ester enhanced polymer. I feel it gives the best compromise between range and penetration. Though of course some swear by epoxy. Personally I don't think it scales well. It might be effective for smaller calibres when you're shooting across a few metres, but the energy release rate won't matter in the slightest when it misses what you're aiming at."

His mouth was open slightly displaying white teeth straight from a toothpaste commercial. "I'm sorry… you use?"

"Yeah, I'm a huntress. Or was at least training to be one. Didn't you know?" Had he been tucked away in this corner all the time and entirely missed the palaver surrounding her attendance. In fact he'd never said her name.

He sat up, taking his feet from the chair and stared at her with a new light behind his eyes. "You're a huntress?" She nodded. "Wow. I wouldn't have guessed. You look so at home in that dress, I can't even imagine you with a gun in your hands. Perhaps you won't find me so boring after all. Most of the girls here just don't care about the people who risk their lives to defend them. I thought you were one of them."

He held out his hand. "Let's start again. Hi I'm Wraith."

His grip was firm and through her silk gloves she could feel the hard callouses. "Ruby." After such formalities all evening, their introduction was blessedly normal.

"Ruby," he said rolling it around his tongue, the way he said it sent a slight tingle down her spine. "So don't keep me waiting, what do you use?"

"A high-calibre sniper-scythe."

"You're kidding. I've only ever seen one used once and it was completely awesome. You've got to show me some time," he said excitedly. "I've never quite got how you manage to not cut yourself when you fire."

"Oh it's quite simple really…"

Armed with a topic she could speak for hours about the rest of the evening slipped away from the pair of them as they traded tips and Wraith kept her laughing with a series of amusing anecdotes from the many hunts he'd been on.

He'd graduated from Bastion last year and in the interim had been hunting down Grimm who were troubling remote Mistralian villages. The nonchalant way he spoke of killing Deathstalkers and Nevermores, left her wishing she could see him in action for real.

It had been so long since she'd been able to summon this enthusiasm for her chosen profession. Wraith's tales of narrow escapes, resounding victories, and the people he'd helped left her own fingers twitching to feel the weight of Crescent Rose once more.

It was only when a servant found them that they realised the music had stopped and most of the hubbub in the room had died down. It must have been so late it could almost be called early, but Ruby wasn't tired in the slightest.

Wraith stood and bowed, his voice taking on the overly pompous tone in imitation of all those around, "It has been a pleasure to make your acquaintance Lady Rose, but now I must take my leave. Perhaps we'll meet again at the next ball."

Ruby had stood as well and unconsciously smoothed her skirts. "I hope so." If Wraith was going to be there, she at least knew she had one friend.

"It would now be good manners to walk you to your car," he said pulling his jacket on. "But as I said before, I'm not much of a gentleman." He showed her his teeth in a grin and winked before disappearing out of her sight.

It was only on the trip back to Atlas, as she was trying to jot down all the boys she'd danced with and all the girls she'd talked to, when Wraith's face kept appearing in her mind did she realise one thing.

He'd never mentioned his last name.

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

The pad of Yang's thumb wiped off the condensation masking the raised lettering on the bottle of lager. Its contents called to her. After all the shit she was going through to lose herself in its embrace would make things so much easier.

When she'd been planning this mission one of the things she hadn't considered was the constant strain of living undercover. It was something she hadn't experienced before and it was something she now knew she wasn't cut out for.

Every time she passed a White Fang patrol it was all she could do to stop herself from ducking down an alleyway out of their sight. She'd been on edge since she got here. At night every errant noise in their apartment caused her to wake sweating.

At least their apartment should have at least been a place where she could relax but it just wasn't. Since their argument, any room with Blake in it was one she didn't particularly want to be in. She was just unable to understand why Blake was still taking Sun's side.

Well, a darker part of her mind had deduced the reason. Sun and Blake had been in a relationship before everything happened and now through a miracle they had an opportunity to continue it. That hurt. Much of her struggles to overcome her probleFms had the foundation of a possible reward. Of a relationship with the person who was so special to her. And now it seemed as if Blake wasn't interested anymore, or hadn't been in the first place.

In the days since they hadn't had another argument. They hadn't exchanged any angry words. But they hadn't exchanged all that many words in total. They discussed operations and that was about it. Even when they retired to their room at night they barely spoke. Only on the first night when she'd moved her pillows to the floor did Blake plead with her to sleep on the bed.

The incident hung heavy between them like a storm and neither of them were able to cause it to dissipate. Yang couldn't see what she did wrong. Perhaps she'd let her anger get the better of her, but Sun hadn't warned them they were meeting with Torchwick. They could very well have killed each other in the first few seconds. Blake just didn't seem to get that.

Their friendship had hit their first real rocky patch and in its absence her mind had turned back towards alcohol. There wasn't the breadth of choices she'd had in Atlas, but in the end alcohol was alcohol. If she got drunk, in those blessedly thought free moments she might stop feeling the ache in her heart.

It would be easier. It took all of her willpower to put the bottle back down on the shelf in the shop fridge. Until Blake said it was over between them, it wouldn't be she who broke their agreement. As long as there was a chance, however small, she would abide by it. And that meant she couldn't drink.

Yang turned away from the fridge and walked around the store putting a few basic items in her basket. The shelves were fairly well stocked all things considered. Though the majority of food was still supplied through the markets that had sprung up across the city, most of the stores had reopened.

They were mostly empty of the pre-packaged foods prepared in the factories of Atlas. In their place was fresh produce from farms inside Vale and on the outlying islands. Most nights Velvet cooked for them; she'd apparently helped her parents for as long as she could remember and knew how to prepare meals with a limited variety of ingredients.

But despite how the stores had reopened, Yang was still somewhat feeling out of place. In the new order established by the White Fang the humans left in Vale generally didn't have the funds to shop here. Every other person she saw was a Faunus. Though most only nodded or smiled at her, a few scowled. As it always had been racism wasn't a one-way street; and now the Faunus had their chance to return what had been done to them for so long.

When walking down the sidewalks she'd had to bite her tongue in response to some of the insults that were hurled at her. It wasn't natural to her but it was sensible. It simply wasn't worth answering back, not when the  _authorities_  would not come down on her side.

Coco was handling it worse. She was used to being respected both as a noble and as the leader of the best team at Beacon. So when a scrawny teenager called her a whore it had almost been provocation enough for her to put him in hospital. She would have happily taught him a lesson if not for the passing White Fang patrol roaring with laughter and telling her to stop causing an obstruction.

Yang was forced to swallow her anger as a Faunus cut in front of her in the queue for the checkout. It was a situation she had witnessed before only reversed. Those times the Faunus had meekly allowed it, knowing the situation would only deteriorate if they spoke out and Yang knew it as well. To her discredit it was only by being subjected to the discrimination did she realise the true extent the Faunus had faced in their everyday life.

But just as it was in the rest of the world it was only a minority that was openly hostile. The cashier didn't refuse to serve her, possibly because the crisp notes she placed on the counter proved too tempting, but more likely the smile she received showed they didn't care who their customers were.

The street outside was busy. The influx of Faunus drawn by the promises of the White Fang was beginning to increase the city population back to what it had been before, but it wasn't there yet. It likely wouldn't be for years, but if the White Fang were left unopposed they would have the Faunus nation they so desired.

And the worst thing was she was no longer entirely sure that it would be a bad thing. Her resolve to bring the White Fang crashing down had not been doused, but no one would have been able to ignore what was all around her.

For the people here ̶ ̶ the Faunus at least ̶ ̶ their lives had improved dramatically. In the majority of the world the default state of being for the Faunus was weary. It was the way most humans saw them as they trudged back home from their menial and gruelling jobs.

But here it was different. Even if they still worked in a factory, they now did so with a smile. Now instead of repeating the same job over and over again just for the minimum wage, they were doing it for a cause they believed in.

It wasn't hard to see why the White Fang had so many advocates. As a terrorist organisation they had provided brief and fleeting respites from the discrimination they suffered. As a government they'd managed to abolish it entirely.

When the friendly White Fang spokesmen and women toured the city and told the people that their work was vital to its continued health, the crowds believed them. Yang had even attended one of those rallies.

It had been a jovial atmosphere. There had been music. Free food and drink. And when the attendees were suitably prepared there was a charismatic speech with the main message being that the future of the city rested on their shoulders.

What had troubled Blake on that first day was now causing her sleepless nights. Could she really destroy the only real chance that those beaming children had of a proper future? If their mission was successful Yang knew full well that those in power would not allow this fledgling nation to flourish. They would crush it as an example or risk more uprisings elsewhere.

It was a question she just couldn't answer.

Walking down the street laden with shopping bags she had to dodge between several people. It was a route that was known to her; she'd made this particular walk several times before and she saw all the familiar faces going about their business. Unfortunately that included the builders on the iron scaffolding repairing a roof. It would be unfair to say that all people in that profession harassed her, but if she got catcalled in the middle of the day it had normally been by someone wearing a hardhat.

It was usually annoying, but it could also be flattering. When she made an effort she wanted people to notice, and she'd made an effort today. Her clothes weren't exactly from the catwalks of Dione, but she could pull off almost anything.

Her white tank top was about a size too small leaving an inch of her firm midriff exposed and her breasts strained against it. Her short skirt revealed her toned legs which were finally beginning to recover their colour after months spent in Atlas. The ensemble was finished with a pair of brown calf high boots. It would have been unfair to take full credit for the outfit, even with limited resources Coco knew how to dress a girl to impress.

The only thing Yang didn't like about her appearance was the hazel she sometimes caught out of the corner of her eye. As much as she tried she couldn't get used to having brown hair. It just didn't suit her.

It had been hard enough to dye it in the first place. She'd gone to one of the most well recommended salons in Atlas, and though the staff had at least alleviated her fears for its health, they could do nothing about the melancholy that settled on her when she first saw her new self. Her mum would probably barely recognise her without the blonde hair both she and Summer had loved so much.

But she hadn't only had to dye it once. Since getting here she'd had to dye it twice in the space of a few days. It might have just been her imagination but she swore it felt more brittle than it had been; the products they had available here just weren't up to the standard of Atlas.

But she'd put herself through it all for Blake. Even if they were going through a rough patch at the moment, Yang knew if it came down to it Blake would be there for her and the reverse was equally true.

Preoccupied with thinking about what had happened between them she entirely missed the figure stepping from the alley immediately in front of her. The bags of groceries slipped from her hands as they collided.

"Watch where you're going you fuck!" Yang spat without thinking, seeing some of the fruit she'd bought roll into the gutter.

"Such a mouth on a lady." The man was half a head taller than her and much more broadly built. His thick black beard was patterned with a slash of white, the continuation of a scar near his eye proving the likely explanation. The top third of one of his ram's horns was missing.

Yang swore again, the anger she'd been holding so tight for days threatening to escape and ruin everything. She started to scoop her groceries back into her bags, but a gnarled hand clamping around her forearm stopped her.

"We're not done talking!"

"Get off me you freak!" Yang fought the urge to truly break his grip. It was strong enough that she could feel the beginnings of a bruise on her skin, but for their mission's sake she had to restrain from lashing out. Unable to pull herself free she cried out in desperation, "Let go!"

It was lucky there were so many people on the street. Individually her attacker may have been too intimidating to confront but there was safety in numbers. As was always the case it only took one bystander less timid than the rest before the crowd mentality reaffirmed their actions.

Before long half a dozen men and a few women ran to her rescue. They were all Faunus but to them it didn't matter that she was a human, only that she was in distress.

"Let her go!" The first to arrive growled, shoving her attacker.

But Ram wasn't intimidated. Still keeping a firm grip on Yang he reached into his coat with the other hand. The tension ratcheted up when no one failed to spot the small submachine gun hanging from a holster, but what really caused the crowd to pause in their aggression was what he showed them.

"Stand back! This is official business." In his hand was a small black leather badge with a red skull and claw marks on it. With so many new recruits, the true elite of the White Fang had sought to differentiate themselves from the rank and file. Instead of simple armbands like they used to wear, they now carried proper identification.

The badges told everyone just who they were. Rather than shock troopers most now acted as a secretive police force stamping out discontent wherever they found it. They had been responsible for some of the resistance cells going quiet.

As hopeful as everyone was for the future of their city, no one was able to forget just what the White Fang had done to forge it. Especially not those who had lived through it. And no one could help but imagine what the White Fang would do to keep it that way.

It might have been fear of crossing one of the senior White Fang, or it might have been respect of the badge and what it represented, but Yang's would-be rescuers lost some of their belief that they were doing the right thing.

Ram sensed it. "She's a criminal, she stole these from a store," he said nodding towards the groceries.

"I'm not. I paid for them." Yang desperately pulled her wallet out, showing the notes she still had.

Ram snatched it from her. "She stole that as well. I've been tracking her for a while. Go about your business." He said to those still watching and faced with a simple explanation from an authority figure they did as they were told.

"Please you've got the wrong person," Yang tugged against his hold, allowing her voice to crack and her eyes to water. "I haven't stolen anything. You can go and ask the cashier."

"Fine let's go and do just that."

For a moment Yang thought he was going to start towards the shop but instead he yanked her off the street into the alley. Her groceries lay forgotten as she struggled, momentarily taken off guard by the sudden change in direction.

He hauled her around a corner before pushing her up against the lichen covered wall.

"You're in a lot of trouble." He released the grip on her arm as he slammed his palm into the brick next to her head.

Yang flinched. He was so much bigger than her he seemed to block out whatever light remained in the dim alley. "I didn't do anything. Please…" She let a tear rolled down her cheek leaving a trace of eye shadow behind it.

"Stop lying!" he shouted spit covering her face. "Here are the facts. You're a thief. No one's going to believe all that the money belongs to filth like you. You assaulted an officer of the White Fang."

"I didn't you ̶ ̶ "

"You've lied directly to my face and that's not mentioning what you called me. Your future does not look bright. Do you know what we do to people like you?"

She had a theory but shook her head, biting her lip as he loomed over her.

"If you're lucky you might just be sent to a mine. How do you think you'd like that? Working twenty hours a day until you just can't move anymore and they throw you in a ditch to starve. Well?"

"I… I…" The thought was actually terrifying.

"Or maybe we'll make an example of you. I think a hand is a fair exchange for the money you stole. Your tongue as well for what you said to me."

Her hands twitched, but she didn't dare move, "Please…"

Ram looked down at her and stroked his beard. "Well, maybe we can come to an arrangement. I'll forget I ever saw you, if you do something for me."

From the look in his eye there was no question in Yang's mind as to just what form that service would take, but she still had to ask. "What?"

"A slut like you doesn't need to be told!" Ram growled, his jaw jutting in his anger. "Dressed up like that, I bet I won't even be your first today. But at least that means you should be good. You better not disappoint me."

Yang really didn't like the option, but he'd at least given her an out. Lowering her fingers to his belt she began undoing it. Roughly his hands reached forward to fondle her ass through her skirt. She internally cringed, but continued fighting with his pants as a rapidly increasing bulge made her work harder. Finally she managed to slip his pants down around his hair covered thighs.

That was when she pushed him. He might have been larger than she was, but he had no immunity against gravity. The moment he tried to take a step back only to find himself unable he tumbled to the ground.

Yang fled. He'd fallen in between her and the street so she ran the other way, deeper into the narrow maze in between the buildings. Right, left, left, she kept running, but knew she wasn't going as fast as she was able.

The stiletto heels on her boots caught in holes and she nearly twisted her ankle more than once as she rounded corners. It was inconceivable to her that Weiss fought in heels that were nearly this high. They were wedges true, but just the angle of her foot was making it difficult to get traction.

Behind her heavy steps echoed down the narrow confines. Ram was managing to track her. It may have been through hearing or possibly he was following the scent of the heavy perfume she'd put on, all she knew was he was still on her tail.

Yang sped up, her heart racing, her arms pumping, but the burst of speed proved her undoing. Her ankle rolled and she tripped. It was a bad fall and it took her a fraction of a moment longer to recover than it normally would. Unfortunately it was all the time Ram needed.

She was wrenched upwards by her hair. The rough bricks scraped against her cheek as she was slammed into them and her right arm was pulled tight behind her back.

She swore as Ram ground his body tight up against hers.

"It's always more fun this way. This could have been over nice and quickly. But you've brought this on yourself."

The stench of his unwashed pores was overpowering and she almost threw up. She tested his grip, hoping escape would be easy, but the lock he had on her arm was excellent. Judging by his rasping breaths and his stiff penis that was pressing up against her, her struggles were only exciting him. His free hand felt like it was covered in sewage as it roamed beneath her tank top and squeezed her breast roughly.

His touch, the heavy panting on the back of her neck, the cloying sense of claustrophobia as he pinned her was too much to handle. Yang threw her head backwards as hard as she could. The back of a skull was never the ideal weapon. It was impossible to aim properly and the bone was too thin but it was still a lot harder than a lot of the targets on a body.

Even doing it properly with a forehead, head-butting someone hurt. It didn't hurt as much as getting head-butted granted, but Yang's brain still sloshed around inside her skull. From the explosive grunt it had hurt Ram more and despite the stars flashing in the corners of her vision she threw her head back again.

Ram released his grip on her arm and she tore off, not even looking back to see what the results of her attack were, but aware she had to make up as much ground as possible. Ram was a lot faster than his initial appearance suggested.

As she raced through alleys the wind stung the abrasion on her cheek. The bustle of the city was distant here, her legs had carried her towards the border of a district that had been heavily damaged by the fighting and was more or less deserted.

Perhaps if she'd just been any girl Ram would have left her alone. Surely it wasn't worth the trouble when there was an entire city full of them, right? But she wasn't. She'd fought him, and his pride needed to make her pay. Make her regret it.

His foot kicked her leg out from under her and she fell, skidding along the ground. "You whore!" he roared as he dragged her up and threw her against a fence. "You better get used to this. I'm going to take you back to the station and we'll all enjoy you. Before too long it'll be the only thing you'll know. Or someone will get carried away and gut you. I don't care. You could have had it easy."

He backhanded her. Yang's head snapped around the bones of her neck clicking. It was only through sheer luck she didn't fall again. It had been years since she'd been struck without at least some protection from an Aura. She could barely breathe through the pain. It hurt. So much. He'd put his full weight behind the blow and it had mashed her lips against her teeth. The tang of blood was rich upon her tongue.

Yang staggered upright. This had gone on too long. No matter what, she'd never cower before anyone, not while any strength remained in her body. Ram eyes glittered as he witnessed the fight still in her. Someone like him would pride themselves on making it disappear. He raised his hand again and as Yang turned her head back to meet his gaze she saw a shadow in the periphery of her vision.

Finally.

Ram might have expected the defiance in meeting his eyes, but the last thing he would have predicted would have been for someone in her position to smile. He hesitated.

Yang released the firm grip she'd held on her Aura since leaving their apartment that morning. Though normally it took some effort to maintain the protective barrier, Auras also acted autonomously. Most people didn't have the fine control hunters did, but it would still flair to try and mitigate a strike or heal some damage.

To prevent it from doing so was much harder than maintaining it in the first place. All this time she'd had to make sure not a drop of it managed to leak through her metaphorical fingers, but now she let the river run wild.

The cut on her lip sealed itself in an instant, the redness on her cheek vanished, and the air filled with the scent of burning chemicals as fires seared her hair blonde. Keeping check of her Semblance had been the hardest part by far. Hers was too tightly tied to her anger. An anger that was blazing.

Ram's eyes widened in shock and realisation at what she was. If not for her contacts he would have been staring deep into a carmine abyss that only heralded his suffering. His mouth opened in the beginnings of a curse. Yang's bared teeth showed his reaction was everything she could have hoped for. Well almost everything.

She threw a punch. It was a jab, she didn't have a whole lot of room but a spectator wouldn't have known. Her muscles were supercharged by everything she'd been forced to hold inside of her, and it struck with enough force to pulverize brick.

But no one could rise to among the highest ranks of the White Fang if they couldn't fight. The Aura above her knuckles slammed into an opposing one. It wasn't like striking stone, instead there was some give as they each tried to gain superiority over the other.

Attacking in the wake of her reveal gave her the advantage, but her first blow was stopped a few millimetres above his skin. She followed up immediately after. Two more jabs which flashed through the air almost too fast to be seen as they thudded home. They still weren't able to quite penetrate his Aura but the blows did rock him backwards.

Yang waded in. She was a fighter who needed to be up close and personal. It was the style her dad had taught her in happier times. Though she'd adapted it since, changing the technique to make it more suitable for her, the principal remained the same.

He'd drilled it into her once she'd finally worn him down enough to get him to agree to teach her. Stay close. Inside the range of their weapons. Don't allow them to change the fight to suit them. Keep the initiative. You're going to get struck, get hurt. You just have to make sure you hurt them more.

Yang made sure she did. She rode a punch to her side, snapping her fist into his wrist to send his half drawn weapon clattering along the ground, and threw a hook into his body. His Aura had just a little bit more give in it.

Lost in the exhilaration of combat, it only registered distantly in the back of her mind, but it still registered. Instead of slowing down from the exertion, the ferocity of her attacks only increased.

She was like an automaton. Her fists fell mechanically. Thunderous blows with the rage of forgotten girls behind them. Ram couldn't keep up. He'd stopped trying to hit back and instead shielded his head, trying to disengage. Yang followed him every step of the way. Her fists shed slews of fire like normal people shed sweat and finally her first crunched into flesh.

Something snapped. A floating left ripped the breath from his lungs and a right cross knocked him to the floor in a spray of blood.

But the blood has seeped into Yang's vision as well. Despite his bulk, her kick to his midriff lifted him from the ground.

"What was it you were planning to do to me, you fuck!" she screamed lashing out at him again.

She'd been able to fight back but so many wouldn't have been. The minutes she'd spent pretending she was normal had been terrifying.

It was horrible to know that someone could make you do something you didn't want to just because they were bigger than you. What if she hadn't even been able to break out of his grip at any time? For something as benign as another's hold to leave bruises was almost unthinkable.  _For her._  But not for others. If he'd truly dragged her from the street without effort, what would she have chosen?

It would have been rape either way, but he had likely been telling the truth when he'd listed all the horrible things he could have done to her. Compared to that it was easy to see why some would do as he said and hope he would let them go.

Yang didn't begrudge anyone who had chosen that. It was perhaps the better option. Fighting would only rouse his anger. Normal people wouldn't be able to beat him, their best chance would've been to run, and if they didn't get away... It would only be worse, hurt more, last longer, and it might not have ended when he was done.

He hadn't been lying when he'd said he'd take her back to the station. Not if the reports were true. The White Fang might have done some good for the Faunus of the city, but its core was still formed of the people who had fought for so long.

They were used to living on the edge, only moments from discovery and death. They'd learnt to take what they wanted, when they wanted it, and they'd learnt to hate. When they joined they might have been enthused by the injustice their race faced, but in the long years any goodness within them had slowly been whittled away. Humans were the enemy and should only be made to suffer. The attacks became bloodier, crueller, any terror they inspired was good, and such lessons could not be easily unlearned.

They wanted to make humans pay and now they had a city full of them under their control. Rape had always be a weapon of war. It was as equally satisfying to the perpetrators as it was horrific to the victims and those who cared about them. And that was discounting the type of people that were able to rise highest in the White Fang.

They were sadists, they liked to cause pain, to humiliate, to hear screams. They were the ones responsible for some of the more brutal attacks that had entire nations turning off their televisions in horror.

In an ideal world the White Fang would have gotten rid of them for a more moderate core. But they were also the people who could get things done and the grip the White Fang had on power was far from secure. They would likely need them in the days to come.

So as long as they kept their excesses discrete they would be overlooked. Someone on the street getting arrested was expected and soon forgotten. Yang doubted she would feature in any of her would be rescuer's thoughts tonight.

They wouldn't know they'd abandoned her to a fate worse than death. It sent shivers down her spine to think of any unfortunate soul that had suffered like in another world she could have.

Locked in a dark, cold cell. Being passed around like a toy. To be covered in their filth but too weak to even wipe it off. To know that there would be no rescue, that the approaching footsteps would only yield more pain. Until it just became too much to bear anymore.

Ram had said it was more fun when someone chose the hard way. Well she had and he didn't seem to be enjoying it. She drove her boot into his side again for all those who were now beyond help.

An arm wrapped around her middle. "Yang we need him able to talk," Blake dragged her away.

"Where the fuck were you!" Yang spat at her, struggling away from her.

It was no coincidence that she was here. This alley had been chosen long in advance. One of the keys to victory in any war was information, and it was a resource that the resistance, and their cell in particular, was seriously lacking.

So far most of what they'd unearthed about the White Fang's finances was only one step more credible than gossip. They needed solid intel before planning their next move and the best way to get it was from someone who knew it intimately.

As well as being a rapist, Ram or Corvo as he was actually called, orchestrated security at one of the White Fang's newly opened offices. She'd been somewhat reluctant when Torchwick had first suggested the plan. Interrogating someone like this just didn't sit well with her, but for a shit like Corvo she'd made an exception.

The problem had been just how to get to him. He slept in a requisitioned flat in a neighbourhood full of White Fang members. They'd come up with and discounted several plans before Blake had mentioned she'd heard rumours about his tastes.

While Yang had been thinking through the ramifications of just how Blake knew, what she'd witnessed, maybe what she'd turned her back on, she failed to see everyone in the room look at her.

In the end it had been decided before she'd had the chance to protest. It hadn't been much of a competition anyway. It had been between her and Coco, and Coco had seniority.

Like at the beginning of any mission this morning and the other times she'd put on her provocative clothes to walk around the area where Corvo spent some of his time, she'd been excited. It was exhilarating. It was scary too, but that only enhanced the sensations. It was the reason why she'd wanted to become a huntress in the first place.

Now she just felt dirty. Her brain kept replaying the sensation of his hands groping her. It was enough to cause bile to rise in her throat. She'd been through all that, and Blake hadn't interfered.

"You were too close to the street." Blake tried to keep her calm.

"I don't care! Didn't you see what he was doing to me!" Blake was meant to have had her back. It was her job to shadow her over the rooftops and if anything went badly to help her out. But Blake hadn't. She'd just watched him trying to rape her. She was meant to be her partner.

"I thought you were acting."

"Acting? Does this look like acting," Yang shouted holding out the broken shoulder strap of her top.

"I… I didn't realise. Why didn't you just fight him off?"

She couldn't answer that. Not when the real answer was  _I was waiting for you_. Despite everything she'd been waiting for Blake to appear and show her it was ok. She would never have allowed him to go further than he had, but her anger that was directed at him was washing over Blake as well.

Blake should have seen her in trouble and helped her. Mission or no mission. But when she'd wanted her, Blake hadn't come to the rescue. She'd been content to sit on the rooftop and let it all play out. Just so their objective wasn't compromised. That was cold.

"Yang I'm sorry," she tried to lay a placating touch on Yang's arm but Yang pulled away.

Even the soft contact sent goosebumps up her spine. "Forget it."

"Yang…"

"No. Let's get this over with." Yang turned back to Corvo who hadn't moved since her last assault.

Blake visibly restrained herself from saying more and instead passed Yang the two bracelets that made up Ember Celica. "Right. Remember what we decided. If I say something you need to do it. Ok?"

"Sure," Yang said. Having known him from her past Blake was going to be the one asking the questions, while she was just there as the muscle.

"Wake him up," Blake passed her a bottle of water.

Yang emptied it over Corvo's head. He probably hadn't been unconscious but her attacks had pushed right to the edge. A litre of water being poured over his skull brought him back. He started coughing as some slipped into his lungs and blood came up with it.

Yang crouched down next to him. "Are you with us now?"

His rude awakening had meant he hadn't had much of a chance to remember just how he had come to be curled up on the floor of a dirty alley covered in his blood, but when he met her gaze it all came flooding back to him. He tried to lift himself up but his arm didn't have the strength. "Bitch," he rasped.

"You're not so tough now are you?" Yang said standing up. "My friend is going to ask you some questions. You better answer them."

"I'm not going to tell you anything," Corvo found some of his strength.

"We both know that's not true," Blake said. "You always were one who couldn't take what you gave out."

Corvo's head snapped around as quickly as it was able at the new voice. His eyes widened through the pain as he saw the figure from his past. "Fucking traitor!"

Yang's boot lashed out without any conscious thought. Insults against her she could take but it would be a cold day in hell before she let someone insult Blake and get away with it.

Blake waited for him to recover from the kick before continuing. "I would say it's pleasant to see you again, but I'd be lying. Here's how this is going to work? If you don't answer my questions, I'm going to leave you alone with my friend here. Think about everything you wanted to do to her and think about what she's going to do to you. Do you understand?"

"Fuck you!" Corvo sent a spray of spit towards her shoes.

Blake took a step back out of his range and simply nodded. It was the signal Yang had been waiting for, she lashed out, though careful to only strike his stomach and not too forcibly, however much she wanted to.

"Corvo, you're not new to this." Blake said tiredly as if she was explaining to an infant. "You know what's going to happen. Eventually you will talk. Everyone  _always_  talks. You've seen it as often as I. The only choice you have is what condition you will be in when this is over."

"Fuck ̶ ̶ " Blake nodded before he finished. Corvo curled up around the point of contact, coughing up more blood.

"We have hours before anyone even notices you've gone. You were always a loner. Even among us outcasts. No one likes you. No one will miss you. No one will care that you're gone. You're nothing. To anyone. To everyone. If they find your body, they're not going to be sad. They won't have a drink in your honour like we've done so many times. Instead, Adam will just be pissed that you fucked up again. Think about it Corvo, you'll know I'm telling the truth. So rather than wasting my time, why don't you start talking? And maybe then you'll actually be able to leave this alley alive."

Yang listened trying not to betray what she was feeling on her face. Blake's monologue was so targeted, so cold. It cut right down to the core of the person who Corvo was. But it was also so hard hitting, she could see the words sinking home. Too hard hitting.

When they'd been planning this Blake had never mentioned that she'd done this before. Interrogate someone. But apparently she had. Or at least been in the general vicinity.  _Often_. Blake had never opened up about what she'd actually done in the White Fang. Only the outburst back while the city was falling, that she  _stole things, scouted targets, and killed people_. And maybe interrogated them as well. Had Blake been one of the masked figures in the hostage videos the White Fang had released?

Despite how close they'd gotten, there was so much Yang didn't know about her partner. In all honesty that scared her. That she might have fallen for only the part of Blake she could see while something else lurked underneath. Something  _darker._

"Fuck you!"

Blake shook her head exasperatedly, but she'd said that Corvo would need to be softened up first.

"I'm going to go for a walk. Perhaps when I come back you'll be more agreeable."

Just as Blake had threatened to do she left Corvo alone with Yang. Yang fixed a rictus grin on her face as he turned his eyes on her. Blake had told her exactly what she needed to do if it came down to this. To make him hurt. To make him fear her. To make him willing to do anything not to be left alone with her again.

Slowly and deliberately Yang cracked her knuckles. Ember Celica was a familiar weight on her wrists, but for this she couldn't risk using it. Striking someone whose Aura had been depleted with a metal plate would break bones. No, it would have to be her knuckles. She preferred it that way anyway.

Corvo attempted to back away from her but as Blake had suggested she started with his stomach. A few quick kicks until he could barely breathe to ensure he wasn't in any position to fight her. Then she went to work properly.

Yang grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him to his knees. He was almost entirely a dead weight in her hand but she held him there long enough for his eyes to meet hers. The moment their gazes connected her fist lashed out.

It wasn't the strongest punch she could have thrown, that would have broken bones Ember Celica or no, but it was still one from someone who had spent countless hours in front of a punching bag. The skin above his eye split under the force and the only thing that stopped him from collapsing was her hold on him.

She hit him again. And again. And again. When one arm got tired she swapped to the other, until both sides of his face were a broken mess of swellings and cuts. Every time one of her hits ripped him from her grasp and he collapsed not moving onto the alley floor she simply picked him up, checked he was still conscious, and started again.

Yang threw another punch. Her knuckles were stained crimson. A meaty thud filled the alley and a shock reverberated up her arm.

And Yang had try to very hard not to throw up. She tried to focus on the feeling of slime still covering her skin where he'd groped her. She tried to think about all the girls who hadn't been able to fight back, who'd had to suffer whatever he'd done to them. She tried to form her anger into a shield. Something that would protect her against what she was being forced to do.

But she couldn't. Her anger always bubbled near to the surface. It normally only took the slightest thing to set her off. When roused she often didn't care about the consequences. Even her friends knew to walk carefully around her when she was in that mood. Her anger was truly terrible, but so was beating a defenceless man.

It wasn't right. Fighting someone, injuring someone, maybe even killing someone in combat was something she'd had to come to terms with, but this… holding someone upright just so they were easier to hit. It was just wrong. It wasn't something a hunter was meant to do. They were meant to be noble, not thugs.

Her skin may have been covered in slime from his touches, but it was also covered in his blood. Every time her knuckles thudded home it only added to her horror. She'd never done this. She'd wanted to sure, but then everyone did. Whenever someone had been wronged, they longed to get even. After the breach she'd dreamt of doing this to Neo, to Torchwick, but they had only been dreams. Her way of coping.

As always the reality didn't live up to her expectations. There was no pleasure in this act for her, no satisfaction, only disgust. But she couldn't allow herself to stop. The White Fang needed to be toppled to save all those who were suffering under it.

The world was at war with them, and war made monsters of everyone. Yang tried to use the excuse that had been used for centuries. That what she was doing was necessary. That it needed to be done. That the outcome would validate the means. But as her fist connected again she knew who the bigger monster in the alley was, and at this moment it wasn't the person who was curled up on the cold floor.

"That was refreshing," Blake reappeared. If she experienced any emotions on seeing her blood splattered partner and what had been done to Corvo they didn't appear outwardly. "Now are you going to show me a little more respect?"

When Corvo didn't respond Blake nodded again. Yang swallowed. She despised the role she'd been given, but she couldn't stop now. Blake had told her to act like an unthinking brute and follow her commands exactly. She hauled Corvo up, drawing back her arm but paused as he nodded minutely.

"Stop," Blake instructed. "What was that? Say it?"

"Yes," Corvo gurgled through the blood that was filling his mouth.

"Good. Now don't make me go for another walk. I'm very interested in one of the offices you oversee, specifically the one on Sassafras Plaza. It handles imports and exports does it not?"

Corvo nodded.

"See how much easier this is? How many guards are assigned to it at night?"

"Six."

"Where are they?"

As Blake slowly and thoroughly dissected every part of the building's security Yang stood silent. It was just wrong that what she had done was so effective. And she hated that every time Corvo considered not answering it only took the sight of her through his swollen eyes to persuade him otherwise.

But that still wasn't enough for Blake. Whenever she thought Corvo hesitated too long, or something he said didn't match an earlier answer, she'd nod again. And Corvo would be subjected to more pain.

It was a relief when Blake finally wrapped up her questioning. Yang just wanted to leave the alley, just try and forget everything that had occurred, everything she'd done. She was ready to do just that when Blake spoke again.

"Where is Adam?" If her tone had been pragmatic and business-like earlier, it was entirely neutral now.

They hadn't discussed this. It hadn't been part of their plan. They were meant to find out about the office and other things related to the White Fang's shipping operations and that was it. But Blake apparently had her own agenda. It made sense, Adam had to be dealt with, but why hadn't Blake asked her about it first? Didn't she trust her?

It was clear Corvo gathered whatever strength remained in his body and used it to shake his head. It was likely he was more terrified of Adam than what might happen to him here. Blake nodded and Yang steeled herself as she went back to her bloody work.

But this time no matter how many times she hit him, how much blood became matted in his beard, he wouldn't talk. Eventually as a tooth flew from his mouth, Yang dropped him and turned to Blake. He was just too scared to turn on Adam and she couldn't face it anymore. Face what she was doing.

But Blake's features did not hold the horror she was sure hers did, instead Blake met her eyes levelly. "Break his arm."

"What?"

"Break his arm." Blake repeated identically. Her voice was entirely devoid of anything that resembled warmth. It chilled Yang to the core. If Blake's demeanour had been scary during the rest of interrogation this was worse. Was this what she had been like during the years she'd spent with them? This  _cold_?

Yang opened her mouth soundlessly. She didn't know what to do. Blake's eyes were drilling into hers. It was too much, but was it much more than she'd already done? And Corvo was still conscious, he would be listening. Blake had told her to be unthinking. She'd said that was the only way to get someone like him to break. And Blake was right, if Corvo had any information on Adam they needed it.

As much as it reviled her Yang did as instructed. Trying to be the machine Blake wanted her to be, trying not to think about what she was doing, she straightened out his arm and put her boot on the back of his elbow.

Corvo knew what she intended but after he'd had all his energy sapped from him by the abuse his struggles were pitiful. Taking a deep breath Yang grasped his forearm and wrenched it the opposite way it was meant to go. The snapping of bone and the tearing of flesh was louder than she'd thought imaginable. It echoed around the alley but it wasn't nearly as loud as Corvo's scream.

So far he'd remained fairly silent during her beatings. Grunting and panting where his pride wouldn't let him cry out. But it did now.

The arm in Yang's hand just had the wrong amount of resistance to its movement and she dropped it, only causing him to thrash more. Bone had splintered through the skin near his elbow and blood leaked from it. She knew enough about injuries, that even with Aura, she'd just likely caused irreparable damage to him. The sight of what she'd done made her sick, but it didn't seem to affect Blake at all.

She crouched down next to his head and grasped his chin, speaking in the same toneless voice. "Where is Adam?"

With tears joining the blood on his face, he shook his head, mumbling wordlessly.

"Break his other arm."

"Blake…" Yang said. Blake was scaring her now. Whoever the person in front of her was, it wasn't the person she'd encountered in the Emerald Forest.

"Break his other arm." Blake looked at her with blank, emotionless eyes. She may as well have been talking about the weather.

Corvo whispered something.

"Again," Blake turned her attention back to him.

"Eburnean."

This time Yang heard it. The Eburnean House, the former seat of Vale's Council. It made sense really, where else would the leader of the White Fang be than where Vale was governed. But information on Adam had been scarce to non-existent. He'd made no public appearances, nothing to suggest he was in charge. Instead leaving the public relations to those more suited to it.

"Which part of it?"

It appeared that Corvo's will was completely broken. All the fight had left him and he answered Blake's questions to the best of his ability. An ability that was greatly reduced by just what Yang had done to him.

Eventually Blake exhausted that line of questioning. They hadn't learned much but it was more than they had. As Blake rose Yang prayed to herself that it was finally over, that Blake was finally done. That she wouldn't have to do anymore. If Ruby knew what she'd done, her sister would never speak to her again.

But Blake still seemed to be entirely unaffected. It wasn't natural. It was as if she'd slipped into a part of her mind where normal emotions just couldn't touch her. She left Corvo without a backwards glance or any form of remorse in her step.

"We've got what we needed. Do you want to ask anything?"

Yang couldn't have shaken her head more.

"Ok let's ge ̶ ̶ " Blake's head snapped around, staring intently down the alley, the ears atop her head twitching. "I think someone's coming. Go and head them off."

"What about you?"

"I need to finish up here. Go. They can't see this. I'll be right behind you."

Yang had spent so long obeying Blake she jogged off in the direction Blake had indicated, activating Ember Celica. In this district it was only likely to be the White Fang. She hadn't heard anything, but then she didn't have the advantages that Blake had.

So much time had passed since she'd been in the shop that evening had fallen. The hours she'd spent beating Corvo were largely a blur in her mind, all she remembered was the feeling of her fist sinking into his flesh again and again. He body ached from the prolonged effort but the actual rewards for her actions, the answers to the questions, had slipped from her mind.

The alley Blake had indicated was entirely devoid of any search party and as she stood immobile in a junction Blake caught up with her.

"Did you see anyone?" Blake asked and Yang shook her head.

"I must have imagined it then."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Blake threw her a bag. "Get changed."

Blake had stood back far enough for the blood to mostly miss her there was only some on her right hand, but that hadn't been an option for Yang. Her clothes and body were caked in it.

"What about Corvo?"

"I drugged him. He'll wake up with no memory of anything that happened. I've got his wallet as well. With any luck he'll think he got mugged."

"Drugs? What drugs?" They hadn't mentioned before either. And even if his wallet was gone, there was no way anyone would mistake what she'd done to him for a mugging.

"I got them from Torchwick after you left," Blake said hurriedly. "Now come on we need to get out of here."

"But ̶ ̶ "

"Yang not now!" Blake snapped. "Get changed."

Yang took a step back, the anger Blake was directing at her was very real. Was this what their partnership had been reduced to in just over a week in Vale? Blake telling her exactly what to do and expecting her to comply without question. Where were any of the good things they once had?

She ducked round a corner away from Blake's cold rage and began stripping off, cleaning her skin with antiseptic wipes. They didn't help. Even when they had stopped coming away from her skin crimson she still felt unclean.

And the worst thing was that she didn't know if she felt dirtier from Corvo's touch or from what Blake had made her do.

**A/N: Well that was heavy. The themes discussed in this chapter were dark, but then so is war. Blake and Yang are two people who have been thrown into a situation that neither is prepared for. Blake learnt her craft in the very terrorist organisation that they are now fighting against. That shows in what she thinks they need to do to be successful. It doesn't help either that their figure of authority is a hardened criminal who won't rein her in. As for Yang she is learning, like so many others, that though in anger you may believe you are capable of anything, it simply isn't the case. Anger may be able to push good people to do bad things, but they will likely regret it later.**

**I hope despite its tone, this chapter was, I'm not sure enjoyable is right word, but at least bearable. Next week won't be so dark.**

**Anyway as always thanks for reading and if you can please tell me what you thought of the themes raised.**

 


	19. Chapter 19

"Oh and have you seen what she's wearing? That colour with her skin tone... What is she thinking?"

Ruby smiled politely as all the girls around her erupted into high pitched giggles which couldn't have possibly been their real laughs. Instead they were just doing it because they believed it made them look cute.

"And you'd never guess whose parents caught her kissing the heir of House Grenier."

Ruby leaned in imitating all the other people in the circle of partygoers as Blossom paused dramatically.

"It was only Snowdrop Draxler."

"No," Amethystine gasped, raising a hand to cover her mouth.

"Yes," Blossom confirmed. "She didn't take very long to recover from the death of her uncle did she?"

This time Ruby joined in with the laughter even if she didn't get how someone dying was even remotely funny.

"Oh and you'll never guess who..."

Ruby let Blossom prattle on. It wasn't really an expression she'd had use for back in Vale, but now her life seemed to be filled with prattle.

When she'd first agreed to Winter's plan her mind had conjured evenings rife with tension. Where every word contained a dozen concealed portents. But it wasn't like that, not in the slightest. Instead, all half the nobles of Atlas ever seemed to talk about were meaningless trivialities. How was her knowing about who Snowdrop Draxler had kissed meant to help Weiss?

It was almost as if she was back at school. Just like in the playground gossip was the primary currency and Blossom was widely known as the biggest one around. If there were any traces of sordid secrets floating around in the lightly perfumed air it was likely Blossom had sniffed them out.

Of course, that was why Ruby was subjecting herself to Blossom. So far all of her tentative questions attempting to get a lead on who might be plotting against the Schnees had come up blank. Not that she really knew the correct way to ask.

This whole thing just wasn't her. At the first ball she had been a little overwhelmed by it all. Despite her aching muscles when she'd got back to the apartment it had been clear that Winter was less than impressed by her efforts. The following day Winter had only given her painstakingly acquired list a quick glance before discounting most of it.

It was hard for her. What exactly was the best way of asking what someone is plotting underneath their smiles? Her upbringing just hadn't prepared her for this. She knew that despite her caution she'd undoubtedly missed something. That first night there had just been too many new faces and too many trips to the dance floor.

If she had to pick one positive from her first experience of Atlesian high society the dancing had been it. Even when she'd had a partner who'd insulted her, the steps and twists still glowed in her memories.

For someone who had no previous experience and had been thrust right into the middle of it, the dancing had been intoxicating. Ever since that evening part of her had longed to be spinning on the dance floor again.

It was just fun, tiring too, but she was discovering something that she had missed out on growing up. Unlike most of the girls at her school while they had been donning their ballet shoes she'd been playing  _hunters_  with Yang in the forest. Back then dancing just hadn't compared to the thrill of even pretend combat.

Now she knew better. Fighting made the world seem so alive, but it came with the heavy cost of what happened after. The dark moods, the nightmares. Dancing was simpler.

It was frivolous sure; her outfit alone was likely worth enough to feed a normal family for months. All the lace, the layers of material, the corsets, there were garments that were much more practical. Yet there was something special about the gowns.

On a mannequin they were undoubtedly beautiful, but it was only when they were flowing through the steps of a dance did they truly come alive. The way they flared out, the way they rustled in time with the moves. They were the polar opposite and yet complimented the men's suits perfectly. All of it combined to create a magical atmosphere of beautiful couples and crystalline music.

She'd even stopped picking at her dress when she was sitting. It was still a little bulky for her taste, and she'd happily set fire to even the less severe corset she was wearing today, but it was no longer as cumbersome as it had been when she'd first worn one. She no longer felt like she was going to trip, and even the lady stilts were beginning to feel natural.

All in all Ruby felt like she was becoming… certainly not a noblewoman. Noblewomen didn't look at a window and imagine a horde of Grimm rushing at them, yet she wasn't really quite herself anymore. Whether she liked it or not, this was Weiss' world and it was as much a part of her as Beacon had been. If they were going to be together Ruby knew that she had to learn to fit in here as seamlessly as Weiss had managed to fit into hers.

And it started by doing exactly what was expected of her. Whenever someone approached her she accepted their invitation. She wasn't quite as much of a novelty this evening, she was at least allowed a rest between dances before someone else approached. The break gave her a chance to be a part of the many congregations that materialised and then dissipated according to some invisible and elaborate pattern.

Not that she managed to learn all that much. Even the partygoers around her age spent their time forming the next generation of trade deals. It shouldn't have been surprising after knowing Weiss, but it still was.

On Patch, the most people her age would be concerned about was how far they could stretch their budgets for a good time. But this wasn't Patch. Where normal children went to school, most of the nobles were privately tutored and as soon as they were ready were given positions in the family's company.

By the time most people started looking for their first job, the heirs to the titles had been groomed for years. Quite often as she was led by her partner to join his particular group of friends, she could do nothing more than stand there while they talked about a subject she was beginning to hate passionately: Business.

Whenever Weiss had to take a call, as hard as Ruby would try to avoid it her eyes would glaze over. The same thing happened here. Why anyone would proudly boast just how much freight they'd managed to fit onto a cargo ship or how they'd just employed a dozen people in an aggressive restructuring she had no idea? But they all seemed awfully pleased about it.

Those were the conversations she was unable to contribute to, but they were infinitely better than the ones she could. Any dialogue that centred around her invariably flowed down two paths. Either they asked questions about Weiss, building on the foundations they'd laid at the previous ball, or they wanted to know exactly what had happened in Vale.

None of them could understand how some "animals" had not only managed to defeat the Atlesian and Valesh forces that had been present, but had also managed to overcome all the students from the supposedly best school on the planet. A school that not even all their money could guarantee them entry to. Their subtle and some not so subtle remarks showed what they thought of the defender's efforts. While the braggarts were regaling her with how things would have gone differently if they'd been there; how they would have put the animals back in their place; how they would have shown them just what someone of proper breeding could do; Ruby discovered something about herself.

In those moments she had the very real urge to lash out. To make them close their mouths. They didn't know what it had been like. Just like they said, they hadn't been there. They hadn't had to walk past body after body with the stench of blood hanging so thick in the air it was possible to taste. They hadn't had to try and fight their way through to someone in peril only to arrive heartbeats too late. They hadn't had to sully their very existence by killing.

In these gaudy ballrooms they could safely say all the things they would have done. But if they'd been there, in her position, they would never have made it out alive. Despite their boasts Ruby knew from their soft bodies that most had only held weapons at formal occasions. She could likely take them all, but she didn't.

That wasn't her. As children it was Yang who had always been getting detention for fighting, whereas she'd always avoided confrontations. Not that it had been particularly difficult. After the first time she'd come home crying Yang had made sure that the bullies knew the consequences of picking on her little sister.

It hadn't been in her nature to have the desire to hit out so violently, but now thanks to everything that had happened it apparently was. Her mind had already calculated the best strategy of attack before she managed to rein herself in. As it was she'd managed to bark out a laugh with everyone else, and even if she had gotten some strange looks it was better than what had nearly happened.

Hunters were dangerous. Even an unarmed strike from one was enough to seriously injure the untrained, and the majority of the nobles of Atlas were untrained. Their ancestors may have originally risen to their positions of power on the back of a strong hand gripping a sword, but now most had swapped the barracks for the board room.

Ruby's impression had them all looking down at the people who did what they considered the "menial" job of fighting. None of them seemed to realise that the soldiers and the hunters who put their lives on the line were the entire reason they could have these balls. Have their easy lives. It was what had made Wraith so different to his peers. He understood.

He understood why she had chosen to follow in her parent's footsteps. He had done the same. He could have spent his years attending these parties before getting a cushy office job, but instead he had been out there in the world, helping the people who needed it.

Ruby felt a kinship with him. They were both hunters and plus he had just been so easy to talk to. Despite how hard she was trying to be sociable she still relied on other people to carry the conversation. Being able to talk for an entire evening about nothing just wasn't in her skillset, but she had spent hours with Wraith at their private table and the time had flown by.

During the week she was left lamenting that she hadn't asked for his number. With work continuing to monopolise Weiss' time, it would have been good to just be able to spend an afternoon showing each other their moves. But she hadn't thought about it. Just like she hadn't asked his last name. It was that embarrassment that it had led her to omitting Wraith from her list for Winter. Not that it mattered. Unlike everyone else he hadn't shown the slightest interest in Weiss, only in her.

Without realising it Ruby had found herself checking all the dark corners and lonely tables for him. Weiss had told her that almost all of the younger nobles attended every ball, but then Wraith was far from normal. He may very well have decided that one ball a month was more than enough for him. It had been her hope to see if he could dance as well as his offhand comment had suggested. For a hunter as skilled as he was, dancing should have been easy.

"Excuse me." A voice from behind Ruby interrupted the mindless drone of Blossom. For a moment Ruby was hopeful as she turned, expecting to finally see Wraith. Instead it was someone she didn't recognise, though she knew his expression; it was the one of someone about to ask her to dance.

If she enjoyed dancing, she also enjoyed being propositioned so regularly. Even if most had ulterior motives, it still felt good. For the first time in her life she was experiencing what it was like to be one of the most sought after people in the room.

"Ruby? I'm Émile Adel. It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." His lips brushed the back of her satin glove.

"Adel?" He had the same accent that Coco sometimes slipped into, although a lot more pronounced. Now that Ruby was looking for it they did seem to share some similar features. The hair colour, the same jaw line, and of course fashion sense. Even if his suit was almost the same as everyone else's, he managed to make it stand out.

"Yes, you know my sister. She's told me so much about all her friends from Beacon, you included of course, not that I've had a chance to meet that many of you. Although apparently my luck is improving. Ruby Rose would you do me the honour of dancing with me?" He held out his hand to her with a bow.

Out of all the invitations she'd received Émile's definitely fell nearer the more flamboyant end of the spectrum. She couldn't help but smile as she saw the glint at the corner of his eye that suggested he was playing it up. Coco had told her a bit about her family but not all that much. If she remembered correctly, Émile was the second eldest, or was that eldest? She wasn't sure but it would be good to be able to talk to a friend of a friend.

"It would be my pleasure," she placed her hand in his and found herself enjoying the brief flash of jealousy from Amethystine. Amethystine was exactly the sort of person who had made her dread going to school; the sort of person who had spread rumours behind her back, teased her about her cloak. Émile like his sister was extremely good-looking, not to mention being in his mid-twenties, and he had asked her, not Amethystine.

As he led her away Émile leant in. "I thought I'd rescue you from Blossom. She's someone who is best experienced in small doses."

Ruby laughed softly. He was entirely right. She was completely unable to recall anything Blossom had said in the last five minutes. "I don't think I saw you at the Laven ball."

"I would be amazed if you did. I was planning to go but something came up at the last minute. You didn't hear this from me but we really messed up with the design of one of our new lines and had to change everything pretty much overnight," he whispered conspiratorially. "You have exquisite taste by the way. You look stunning in that dress."

"Thank you." It had been more difficult shopping for a dress without Weiss and Winter to help her, but it had also meant that she actually had an input in what she would wear. As much as she liked Weiss' colours, the scarlet gown of today was much more her. "Though the dress helps a lot."

"Nonsense but I'll take that as a complement." He answered her confused look, "That dress is one of mine."

"Really?" He nodded proudly. It was certainly eye catching with its gossamer and patches of translucent mesh, but there was one question she wanted to ask of him above all others. "Did you have to use a corset?"

When she'd gotten her first dress off the relief of finally being able to breathe properly had only been temporary. The rigours she'd subjected herself to in the name of fashion had left lurid bruises where the bones of the corset had dug into her skin. As always her Aura provided little protection against maintained pressure. The bruises had healed overnight, but she'd still been adamant that she wouldn't wear a corset again. She'd lost that battle ̶ ̶ very few dresses didn't have one of one form or another ̶ ̶ but at least this one allowed a little more air in her lungs.

"Sorry but it's what everyone wants at the moment. Though I am glad I don't have to wear one. Here we go," he said as the music tailed off and half of those who had been dancing vacated the polished floor.

As he led her to their starting position under a dozen crystal chandeliers that might very well have contained actual gemstones there was a bounce in Ruby's step. She'd repeated this enough that the nerves of making a mistake had all but vanished. She'd made some sure, but so did everyone else. Plus, with all the lessons she was having with Cyrano it almost felt natural to move to the music.

The tinkling first notes of the piano were the cue for her to step off, but as so often happened there was still plenty of opportunity for talk whenever they came together.

"I haven't seen Weiss yet, is she here?" Émile asked as they twirled.

The sadness she'd managed to avoid thinking about returned in full force. Once again she had been forced to come alone if Winter's plan was going to be successful. People had to view her as close enough to Weiss to know things about her, but not too close. They would never try to manipulate her with Weiss standing by her side.

"No, she had a last minute meeting," Ruby used this week's lie.

Émile frowned. "She works too hard. It feels as if I haven't talked to her in an age. Every time I phone she's either in a meeting or about to rush off to one."

It was a sentiment Ruby wholeheartedly agreed with. Too many of her phone calls were curtailed or went straight to voice mail. Even if their relationship had improved dramatically with her tentative recovery from depression, Ruby still wished she could spend more time with her girlfriend. The evenings and mornings were far too short.

"She's doing ok though isn't she?"

"Yeah… mostly. She's a little tired." Ruby missed a step as she focused on Weiss and it took her a few seconds to find the rhythm again.

"It's not surprising with everything that happened. Tintagel Castle, the riots, it must have been dreadful in Atlas. And Weiss was right in the middle of it. I feel so sorry for her. I know how she hates it. But she's doing better now right?"

"Yeah… I guess. I just wish I got to see her more."

"Me too. Where did you say she was again?"

"Uhh…" Ruby paused and concentrated on the particularly complicated sequence of steps that would take her around her stationary partner before back into his waiting arms. "Meetings," she said slightly out of breath when they came face to face again.

"Ahh, yes, you did say. I suppose she's still trying to close the deal with Seidur? She was telling me what a pain that was."

"I think so," the name sounded vaguely familiar to Ruby.

"Well I hope she manages it soon." This time it was Émile's turn to leave her standing and briefly he was replaced with another partner before he returned to her. "You're staying with her right?"

"Yeah." As the music slowed down Ruby stepped in close and Émile wrapped his arms around her. As Cyrano had told her, the dances were so much more than just a pretty routine. They were all choreographed around their own story set to the accompanying music, and here they were two lovers finally reuniting after a period of strife.

"It must be fun staying in the penthouse. You can see the Eiszapfen from your room can't you?" Émile spoke into her ear.

"No, I don't think so."

"My mistake. I don't tend to spend all that much time in Atlas the next time I'm there you'll have to show me around."

"Sure," it would give her something else to do in the long days waiting for Weiss.

The suite reached its most sombre part as the life long relationship met its mortal boundaries. Émile lowered her down until she was almost horizontal before his lips moved towards hers. This was the only part of dancing that she didn't enjoy. It was meant for couples in a relationship but everyone had to go through the motions.

Most of her partners had been respectful merely kissing her cheek as was appropriate. And though she didn't enjoy the lips that were so coarse compared to Weiss', they were infinitely better than those who sought to kiss her properly. Perhaps they thought that she was flattered by the attention they were showing someone of her birth, or maybe they read too much into the dance moves that were meant to be passionate, or maybe they just thought they could do whatever they wished and she shouldn't have a say in it. They had generally not responded well to her turning her cheek to them.

She'd known Émile wouldn't fall in the last group. He was far too charming, not to mention being Coco's older brother. He hovered close enough for her to feel his hot breath on her skin until the last note faded away.

"I can see Coco wasn't lying when she told me how good you were at Beacon. And you're definitely in better shape than me." Émile was panting slightly as he took her hand. "I think I need to sit down and I want to introduce you to some of my friends."

Émile's friends were all just as charming as he was and they spoke to her as an equal even though they were all significantly older than her. Half of them worked in the fashion industry, and they gave her a few hints of what trends were about to come in so she could get ahead of the curve at the next ball.

They made her feel like part of their circle and, for a moment, Ruby forgot her reasons for attending. Instead she just enjoyed the gentle murmur of conversation and the occasional actual funny joke. Maybe it was because of Émile's hand lingering on her arm but no one approached her with an offer to dance.

"Good evening everyone." The soft voice was the first indication Ruby had of the person who had approached from her blind spot.

Several of those who were sipping wine paused with their glasses half way to their mouths and it took them a fraction of a moment to recover their composure.

"Lunaria." Émile bowed his head towards her, a move that sent a ripple of bows and curtseys round the circle. Ruby was caught off guard by the sudden action and her own curtsey was noticeably delayed. "As always it's a pleasure."

"Quite." Lunaria had only been in the conversation for a moment but she was already dominating it. "I was rather taken with the Verdoyant collection." Lunaria held out a hand and as if by magic a wineglass appeared in it.

With the prospect of a new contract from the heir to one of the largest houses in Atlas, Émile's attention drifted entirely away from Ruby. "Well why don't I bring a few pieces to your office and talk you through them in more detail?"

Lunaria smiled warmly. "That would be ideal. Get into contact with my assistant tomorrow and we'll find a date that works for both of us. Now as much as I would enjoy spending the rest of the evening chatting with you, I have business with Miss Rose. You are dismissed."

Ruby had been focused on the conversation, but the mention of her name brought a new clarity to it. Lunaria had sought her out and whatever her reason it was unlikely to be good. If she ever had any doubts as to Lunaria's influence they were answered there.

The dismissal had been brusque and without tact. They were nobles, all with proud lineages to uphold, but not a single one of them made the slightest complaint. There were farewells, another round of bows and curtseys, and before Ruby knew it she and Lunaria were alone.

With her audience gone Lunaria's warm smile faded into line of neutrality. With a very proper motion she tucked her skirts under her and sat down. The seat might have been relatively simple in comparison to some of the other decorations, but her posture made it seem like a throne. Even if in reality Ruby now had the height on Lunaria, the heiress still somehow managed to look down on her. Under her gaze Ruby felt exposed, as if her fine dress had been stripped away and she was reduced to a commoner from Vale once more.

Lunaria sipped her wine and Ruby stood uncertainly, not sure of what she was meant to do. Lunaria reminded her so much of Winter, she wasn't as perfect in her appearance, but then no one was. No, it was more to do with the intelligence behind the dark eyes.

"You may sit."

It was almost like being summoned to the headmistress's office back at school.

"You're extremely lucky child." Lunaria said.

A flare of annoyance banished some of Ruby's nerves. Lunaria might have been a decade older than her, but she wasn't a child. Not after everything she'd been through. "Why?"

"You may address me as Lady Lunaria," her tone was unchanged and she waited expectantly.

"Why is that, Lady Lunaria?" Ruby finally asked. Most of the time nobles didn't expect others ̶ ̶ or even her ̶ ̶ to address them by their titles. Judging by the look of disdain she was receiving, Lunaria thought her appellation was deserved.

Lunaria smirked ever so slightly at the victory. "Because you have a chance to make something of yourself. So far your life has been a waste. Before the fall of Vale your best prospect was to spend all your days in the mud chasing after some Grimm. Now though, you have the chance to be used by your betters."

Ruby tried to maintain her neutral expression, but inside she was lighting up. After all the dancing and the conversation she was finally getting somewhere. If Lunaria wanted to use her it would be best to play along, though it wouldn't do to seem too enthusiastic.

"Wouldn't it be better not to be used by anyone Lady Lunaria?" It wasn't too much difficulty to sound shy and meek under Lunaria's hawk-like gaze.

"No. Even a foreign peasant like you must be able to see the importance of being useful to those stationed above you." There was no malice in the insult; it was simply said in a way that suggested Lunaria wholeheartedly believed it to be true, and expected Ruby to agree with her.

Ruby opened and closed her mouth without speaking. At the balls she'd met some rude people who thought their lineage put them above her, but no one had ever treated her in this manner. Of course, the only other members of a house as powerful as the Estrallas she'd met so far were Weiss and Winter. Although Winter had also insulted her on their first meeting, that had been because of what she had said, not how she was born.

"I take it you silence means that you can see the sense behind my words. If you do well child, perhaps I will be able to arrange you a pleasant job that doesn't overly tax your limited intelligence. If you don't do well, I will make your life very, very difficult."

The threat was said with conviction behind it. From what Ruby had seen so far Lunaria seemed to be one of the people that everyone looked to impress. It was likely that a single word from her would be enough to set everyone else against her. "What do you want with me?"

"You really are a dull-minded thing aren't you? How someone like you got into Beacon I will never know." Lunaria's tone still didn't change. She could have been discussing anything.

It took a few seconds for Ruby to realise what had caused the new barrage of insults and her cheeks flushed. "What do you want with me, Lady Lunaria?"

"Perhaps nothing. Or perhaps sometimes I will ask you to do something for me. Through sheer chance a peasant like you has access to a Schnee. Access that many people would find very useful."

"But Weiss is my friend," it slipped out before Ruby could help it.

Lunaria laughed before looking at her with what only could be described as pity. "You really are a fool. Schnees don't have friends. The only reason that Weiss ever even chose to speak to you is because she was unfortunate enough to be selected as your partner. Can you honestly tell yourself she would have even raised her eyebrow at you otherwise?

"Weiss is not your friend. What you could possibly offer her? You're a commoner who likely grew up in a shack while she was raised in a mansion. She's the heiress to a multinational corporation. If not for chance, she wouldn't even have noticed you. You are entirely below her.

"I've seen you tottering around on the dance floor; you're embarrassing her just by association. And just look at yourself. Hair like you've just spent a week in the forest and had to cut it with a rock. A dress that hangs on you like a sack. It's no wonder Weiss doesn't want to be seen with you.

"At the moment Weiss is simply saving face by keeping you around, but the moment she can, she'll only be too happy to get rid of you. You mean nothing to her. You give nothing to her. You are nothing. Don't fool yourself otherwise."

The words shouldn't have cut so deep. They shouldn't have pierced into the very depths of her soul, but they did. They resonated with the fears she harboured inside herself. Even after everything they'd been through together, she still feared that she wasn't good enough for Weiss.

Everything Lunaria said was true. Weiss was refined, beautiful, smart, important, whereas she would always just be the girl from the small house on Patch. When she compared them like that, she couldn't help but feel inferior.

But despite Lunaria's obvious intelligence, Ruby knew one thing that she apparently didn't. She loved Weiss, and even if Weiss hadn't said it yet, she knew Weiss felt the same. Lunaria apparently just thought they were just partners, not even friends.

"I see by your vapid expression you understand just who you are. When Weiss is finally able to get rid of you, you will be stuck here, with no family, no job, nothing. You would be wise to attempt to get on my good side before that occurs." Lunaria didn't hold back. She seemed to know that Ruby was unable to answer back, any resistance would only make the situation worse.

"What do you want?" Ruby tried to sound despondent. It seemed to work as Lunaria didn't correct her for missing her title, instead sitting back with a satisfied look.

"Weiss has an office in your apartment, does she not?" Ruby nodded. "Then perhaps by the next time we talk it would have been beneficial for you to have found yourself inside it."

"But it's locked."

"That is problem I would expect someone who wishes to work for me in the future to be able to solve on their own."

"What should I look for?"

"Anything that catches your interest. Only make sure you have something, or the next ball is going to be very unpleasant."

"What if I tell Weiss what you're planning?"

If it was possible, Lunaria looked down her nose at her even more. "You don't know what I'm planning. You have nothing to tell, and Weiss would not look kindly to you even considering the idea of working against her. But if she somehow finds it in her heart to keep you around, an anonymous tip would find its way into to Lord Schnee's in-tray. And he does not take kindly to betrayal." Lunaria smirked. "Now we've had this talk and you've incriminated yourself, your only path forward lies with me. Now scurry off to whatever corner you came from and do not disappoint me."

Just like that Lunaria seemed to banish Ruby from her perception and gratefully Ruby took the opportunity to leave. Her thoughts were a tangled mess and rather than return to Émile she found a quiet table and tried to think.

Someone like that, someone with that much poise and just the bearing that they were that much better than others made her feel so unimportant. Winter had inspired the same feelings and though the time they'd spend together had somewhat alleviated the worst of it, it was easy to spot the similarities between Winter and Lunaria.

It was what made Weiss so special. Weiss could have been like them, she could have looked down her nose at everyone that wasn't born to wealth, but she didn't. It might have taken her a little longer than it should, but eventually Weiss had stopped comparing her lineage against others.

Lunaria obviously took great satisfaction in the power she wielded, and she had wielded it deftly. If not for the fact Winter and Weiss knew exactly what Ruby was doing at the balls she would likely have been manoeuvred into a corner where her only option was compliance.

From everything she'd learned about Weiss' father, Lunaria's threat was a very real one. If Winter was right he would have her  _vanished_  merely for being in a relationship with his daughter, just what would he do to someone who he believed was planning to betray him?

Thankfully she still hadn't met Lord Schnee, but was aware that in the future she would have to. They couldn't hide their relationship forever; it wasn't fair on either of them. At some point they would have to confront him, tell him the truth, make him understand that they loved each other and there was nothing he could do to change that.

But that was a battle for another day, at the moment she had to concentrate on Lunaria. Casting her mind back she replayed the conversation, but couldn't recall anything Lunaria had let slip. She'd been telling the truth with the statement that Ruby didn't know what she was planning.

The office in their apartment wasn't much of a clue either. The door was kept locked, but only to make sure the cleaning staff stayed out of it. Weiss had never forbidden her from going inside and she'd even sat in there while Weiss worked. It was just an office, a large desk, a chair, a few bookcases filled with volumes on politics and economics. There wasn't even that much paperwork, not when compared to her office at the Eiszapfen. Perhaps Lunaria was just testing her before giving her a more significant task.

Still, Winter would likely give her a list of things to report to Lunaria. Most true and insignificant, with maybe a couple of fabrications that would push Lunaria in the direction Winter desired. After all it was Winter who was directing her actions not Weiss.

Whereas Weiss had often returned from these balls exhausted ̶ ̶ something Ruby now fully understood ̶ ̶ Winter seemed to be invigorated by them. Winter enjoyed playing the game so much Ruby was sure that Winter wouldn't be able to keep herself attending for much longer, and now that there was actual real danger in the air Winter only seemed to enjoy it even more.

But to her, trying to keep track of all the different things she'd learnt was just tiring. She couldn't wait for the days when she could attend with Weiss and her only purpose was to enjoy the evening. Though at this precise moment, surrounded by all the different threads, those days seemed very far away.

The talk with Lunaria had sapped the last of the energy from her and she had to refuse three more suitors before word got round that she wasn't in the mood to dance. Instead she simply watched the couples twirl on the dance floor to suites she hadn't heard before. The classical scene had never really been hers, but now she was beginning to develop a new appreciation for it.

The moment she noticed the first people beginning to leave she made her way to the grand entrance hall and, almost by magic, as she stepped from it her driver was waiting for her. The famed Atlesian efficiency had not been overrated.

The seats of the car were made of plush leather which seemed to swallow her and instead of sitting she lay down lengthways. She knew she probably should have sat properly and worn a seatbelt, but as she'd found travelling around Atlas with Weiss, seatbelts were apparently only for the poor. A police officer would never dare to pull over a noble for such a minor infraction.

The car was comfortable enough for her to fall asleep in but it had one major flaw, it was going in the wrong direction. Her flight back to Atlas was scheduled for tomorrow ̶ ̶ or later this morning she realised looking at the clock ̶ ̶ and her driver was taking her back to her hotel.

To keep from drifting off as indistinct lights sped past the heavily tinted windows she made notes of what she'd learned on her scroll. She transcribed the entirety of what she could remember of her conversation with Lunaria, even the insults. That was the main thing she could bring away from this evening. There was a plot against the Schnees. It hadn't just been in Winter's imagination. And Lunaria was at the centre of it.

* * *

 

Despite her best efforts she did fall asleep and woke with a start as her driver opened the door.

"We've arrived miss," he said holding out his hand to help her from the car.

"Thank you," she had to stifle a yawn. As embarrassing as it was she couldn't remember his name. Her drivers were hardly ever the same person but they all had a similar appearance. Neat haircuts, expensive suits, and bulges under their jackets. Ruby was certain they weren't only chauffeurs but were also bodyguards that Weiss had assigned to protect her.

Her  _hotel_  only served to highlight the difference between Atlas and Vale. It wasn't a building but was instead a sprawling complex of individual wooden chalets in the middle of the countryside. Such an inefficient use of space just wouldn't have been possible anywhere other than Weiss' homeland.

"Goodnight miss," her driver said after walking her to the door and unlocking it.

"Night." Ruby ceased her dancing from foot to foot as she stepped inside. For comfort's sake she'd removed her heels in the car and had forgotten about how cold the driveway would be on her bare toes when she hadn't put them back on. But now the only obstacle between her and her bed was the dress she was currently trapped in. She was tempted not to send a message to Hazel ̶ ̶ who she supposed was now her designated handmaiden when it came to getting dressed ̶ ̶ and instead just collapse face first on her mattress.

There was a muffled thump from the living room. Her hunter's instincts sent adrenaline surging into her bloodstream. She definitely hadn't imagined it. Something was there. It couldn't have been Hazel; she didn't have a key card. Normally outside of a city's walls her mind would have jumped to Grimm, but that didn't seem likely in central Atlas. That meant it was White Fang or maybe someone working for a noble family had followed her to the hotel.

Crescent Rose was all the way back in the capital and her hands longed for its weight. She still wasn't all that proficient at hand to hand combat despite Yang's lessons and so came to the conclusion that her best course of action would be to try and find a weapon. Her search wasn't all that fruitful and as absurd as it was she pulled a heavy oak walking stick from the hallway's stand.

It wasn't quite a High-Calibre Sniper-Scythe but it was better than nothing. She crept up to the door and put her ear up against it but only silence greeted her. Gathering her Aura and priming her Semblance she slowly pushed it open.

The room beyond was dark, only illuminated by an artificial light from outside. Her eyes strained to pierce the shadows. A blur leapt from them barking wildly and she swung at the small shape. The ornately carved wood cracked as it struck something that flared bright white in the darkness and a jolt ran up her arm. The shape bounced off the floating surface and hit her in the chest.

Her face was covered in something wet and warm. Her apprehension vanished. She'd recognise that particular attack anywhere. Her laughter filled the air as she hugged the wriggling body against her. The lights came on.

"Zwei come back here," Weiss called out crossly from across the room.

Zwei paused long enough to bark at her before going back to ruining Ruby's makeup.

"Who's a good boy?" Ruby kissed him. She didn't know how he was here but didn't really care at the moment. Ever since they'd escaped Atlas he'd been in quarantine with all the other animals that had come with them.

At the start she'd been too depressed to even make the short walk to where he was being held, but since beginning her recovery visiting him had been part of her daily routine. She'd enjoyed those visits immensely, but there was a big difference between seeing him inside a cage and here.

"Ruby that's disgusting!" Weiss' voice interrupted her smooches.

"Come on Weiss come here," she said holding out her arm and Zwei even pursed his lips as best he was able.

"I most certainly will not." Weiss put the sofa between them.

Ruby exchanged a conspiratorial look with Zwei. She didn't know how Weiss was here either, but that she was here was all that mattered. The subtle ache in her heart that was present whenever they were separated had been replaced by a feeling of completeness.

Weiss seemed to figure out what they were planning and held up a threatening finger. "Don't you dare."

Zwei leapt through the air and time blurred as Ruby activated her Semblance. All the layers of her skirts almost caused her to trip and she hit Weiss harder than she'd intended, knocking the air from her lungs as they fell to the floor in a tangled heap. Zwei made good use of their misfortune pouncing on top of them and licking them alternately.

"You dunce!" Weiss screeched.

Ruby just laughed some more. Since meeting Weiss she'd had to learn the different tones of Weiss' voice and this one, though annoyed, wasn't quite approaching a level where her safety would be threatened. "Come here," Ruby used the leverage from her position to kiss Weiss on the lips.

"Ughh," Weiss tried to push her away. "Ruby you have dog breath!"

"So do you," Ruby kissed her again. This Weiss was one of her favourites, one which still maintained the things that made her special, but one which was also playful. The combination just made Weiss unbearably cute.

Upset as being left out Zwei's cold and wet nose pushed its way between their lips. Ruby accepted the lick although Weiss squirmed as the rough tongue dragged across her cheek. "Let me up this instant."

Ruby rolled to her knees and took Weiss' hand in her own helping her to sit. "Why… How are you here?"

"To surprise you, you dolt. I didn't think you'd assault me."

Ruby leant across to kiss her again and despite all of Zwei's saliva Weiss didn't pull away.

"My sincerest apologies my lady. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?" Ruby tried to imitate some of the more pompous people she'd encountered tonight.

" _Dolt_ ," Weiss muttered under her breath. "And you tried to kill Zwei."

"It was dark and something jumped at me," Ruby sought to defend herself but was ever so grateful Weiss had stopped her. It was unlikely that her strike would have killed Zwei, but it would have hurt him, and he was currently one of the only reminders she had of home. She hugged him. "I'm sorry."

"Well no harm done," Weiss pulled a Schnee embroidered handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her face. "But really a walking stick?"

"It was the best I could find," Ruby replied quickly with the distinct feeling that Weiss was about to make her feel like an idiot.

"Why didn't you just get your driver? I'm sure he's still waiting outside."

"Oh…"  _Yep, idiot confirmed_. That would have made more sense than entering a room with an unknown number of assailants armed with an improvised weapon.

"And you've ruined your dress."

The delicate material had scuffed on the carpet as the three of them rolled around and her chest was covered in saliva.

Weiss quickly sought to alleviate her falling expression. "It doesn't matter. You couldn't have worn it again anyway."

There was that. Despite the enormous waste, Weiss had patiently explained to her aghast expression that it was social suicide to be seen in the same gown more than once. The balls were meant to showcase a family's wealth, if they needed to reuse a dress it would set tongues wagging.

"How are you both here?" Ruby asked again.

Weiss shrugged her shoulders in a nonchalant way. "I was flying back to Atlas and I just thought I might drop by."

Ruby frowned. Her knowledge of Atlesian geography wasn't perfect but she was pretty sure that Calypso wasn't just on the way between Atlas and Maera. And then there was Zwei, Weiss wouldn't have brought him on a business trip, not when he was still meant to be in quarantine for another week, but she didn't challenge the half-truth. That she wasn't facing the prospect of a long night alone was all she was concerned about.

As always Weiss' romantic gestures were incredibly sweet, even if she didn't always feel comfortable admitting to them. Weiss had gone out of her way to be here for her and Ruby couldn't be happier. The conversation with Lunaria had ruined whatever enjoyment she'd managed to glean from the ball and she knew it would have been incredibly hard for her to find the energy to get out of bed tomorrow morning. But it wouldn't be with Weiss next to her.

"Now I should help you get out of that dress, come on." Weiss started to shepherd her upstairs not realising quite what she'd said.

Being educated privately for most of her childhood meant Weiss' broad depth of knowledge was missing some of the things that someone only learned through interacting with others their own age. Yang had preyed on her slips of the tongue mercilessly and would have again had she been here.

When Weiss said she was going to help her get out of her dress she meant exactly that. Not what most would imply with that statement. Ruby tried to rack her brain for something witty but by the time she'd managed to come up with something even half decent they were already near the top of the stairs.

"Sit," Weiss pushed her down onto a chair in front of the large walnut vanity table and busied herself removing the dozens of pins holding Ruby's hair in its intricate shape.

Ruby just watched Weiss' reflection work. The large fireplace had heated the bedroom to a temperature that could only be described as toasty. In the firelight, Weiss looked so beautiful. As often happened when she was concentrating particularly hard her lips were pursed with just the slightest hint of her tongue protruding between them. It was a sight that had distracted her from studying on more than one occasion, even before they'd started going out though she hadn't known the reason. All she'd known was that something about the expression sent her heart racing.

Zwei tussled with her many skirts in a bid for attention and she presented her hand to him. Between the licking of her fingers and the soft dragging of a brush through her hair she started to lose her battle with sleep again. It really wasn't helping that Weiss had started humming. The gentle melody settled over her like a blanket but she was so grateful that she was among the privileged few that Weiss felt comfortable enough around to do it.

Weiss liked to hum or even sing, just not where anyone could hear it. Weiss had music in her heart just trying to escape, but too often it found the gate barred. The many times her father had forced her to perform only to have him compare her  _dire_  performance to Winter's had stolen a great gift from the world.

Often Ruby would return from her lessons to hear something chillingly beautiful on the other side of the door only for it to be cut off the instant the handle turned. It wasn't just her being biased either, on the rare occasions when a few refrains of music were audible over cascading water both Yang and Blake would stop just to listen as well. Weiss had an amazing voice and even if it was a tragedy she refused to share it with the world, it was even more special to Ruby that she had a chance to experience it.

"Ruby?" Weiss' voice caused her eyes to leap back open.

"Yes," she said a little more loudly than she'd intended.

"I asked you to stand up. I know it's late and you're tired, but you can't go to sleep like that."

"I'm not tired," Ruby said a little too quickly to believable. Weiss just raised an eyebrow, positioned her in an empty space, and knelt down at her back. As Weiss' nimble but strong fingers began to undo the ties to her corset Ruby experienced a moment of bliss.

It was true that with enough exposure you could get used to almost anything. Though that wasn't quite the case with her and formal corsets yet, most of the time she did just believe her reduced lung capacity was the norm. As the panels of material that had been cinching her waist practically sprang open she took her first full breath in hours and it was exquisite.

As soon as Weiss had disappeared around the wardrobe door with the corset Ruby prodded her sides. Last time, even though Weiss had helped her then she'd managed to hide the bruises. It was just one more thing that Weiss didn't need to worry about and thankfully she didn't flinch from her finger overly much.

Under Weiss' expert hands it only took another five minutes for her to be reduced to her small clothes. It wasn't quite as revealing as underwear ̶ ̶ they were still derived from the more modest fashions of the past after all ̶ ̶ but it was close. She and Weiss had seen each other in their underwear before of course. Weiss slept in a sheer nightgown and they didn't always leave the room to get changed, but it was still enough to bring heat to both of their cheeks.

"Well you should probably shower before bed." Weiss stepped back averting her eyes.

"Thanks," Ruby looked at her. Even if Weiss had wiped her face there were still traces of drool. The thought came to her suddenly that Weiss needed to wash too.

"Do you…" The words died on her lips.  _Do you want to shower with me?_  Why couldn't she say those simple words? Ask the simple question? They'd been going out more than long enough to move to the next stage of their relationship. Now that she was getting better they were increasingly physical and yet they'd never moved past kissing in their underwear. It was an indomitable wall.

And she didn't know why. Their relationship was great. They loved each other. It should have happened naturally but for some reason it just didn't. It wasn't that the area was unknown to her. She'd  _explored_  in private and she'd had dreams of Weiss doing some of the things to her that those girls were doing in the videos, and yet she'd never mentioned it.

The reason their relationship hadn't progressed had come from Weiss' side, especially when Ruby knew she was ready. But Weiss had enough on her plate without that guilt being added on top of it. She didn't want to pressure Weiss into doing something she wasn't comfortable with, not when it could ruin everything between them. As frustrating as it was she had to wait for Weiss to make the first move.

"Do you want to sleep in the same bed?" The idiotic question that her brain concocted to fill in the silence came out in a rush.

Weiss stared at her. "Yes. Don't you?" The first hints of hurt were just audible behind the words.

"No I do," Ruby felt like hitting herself. "I just didn't know if you were too tired to deal with me tossing and turning."

Weiss smiled and Ruby let out a breath of relief. "I don't mind your tossing and turning. Though I should probably shower again as well, thanks to two who shall remain nameless for their own protection."

Ruby and Zwei both tried to look innocent.

"I'll see you in a few minutes," Weiss headed towards one of the other bathrooms.

After ensuring that Zwei didn't sneak in after her Ruby showered as quickly as possible not wanting to be away from Weiss a moment longer than she had to be. But dancing in a room heated by hundreds of other people worked up quite a sweat. By the time she'd dried off Weiss was already in the huge four poster bed staring into the flames of the fireplace.

Ruby dropped her bathrobe in a heap and clambered into it. She wrapped an arm around Weiss before pulling the duvet up over both of them, but just as she was settling down Weiss wriggled against her.

"No. We always do this. Roll over." Weiss instructed and though not quite sure of Weiss' intentions Ruby did as she was told.

Weiss pressed herself up against her back and snaked her arms around her. As Weiss' breath tickled her neck Ruby understood. She always played the  _big spoon_  but that was simply because it was what seemed natural. In a suit Weiss might have been able to boss around literally thousands of people, but in her nightgown she was just so small and fragile. Not weak. Never weak. But something to be cherished and protected. Ruby liked wrapping Weiss in her embrace and kissing the back of her head. It made her feel useful to feel Weiss' contented breathing.

But Ruby found the opposite was equally pleasant. In Weiss' arms  _she_  felt safe, as though everything bad in the world was at that moment ever so far away. Ruby interlaced her fingers with one of Weiss' hands and pressed it over her heart. Weiss nuzzled her neck in answer to the heartbeat she could feel through her palm.

They were temporarily drawn out of their closeness by a disturbance near their feet, but it was only Zwei burrowing his way beneath the covers not wanting to miss out. Her childhood pet and one of her closest friends curled into a ball against her stomach. His body gave off as much heat as a hot water bottle and between him and Weiss the warmth eased any of her muscles that had been overworked.

As the winds of a rising storm battered the windows and the wood in the fireplace crackled Ruby let out a sigh of contentment. This was what life was meant to be. It wasn't always fair, but instances like this were all anyone lived for. Safe in a warm bed with the person she loved and one of her best friends, the worries of the world seemed to shrink into insignificance.


	20. Chapter 20

A flashlight glinted against the window as a guard checked a darkened room for any intruders. From her position across the street Blake silently counted just how long it took them to clear that corridor; she compared it to her mental notes from the night before.

That was the sum total of her observations and it made her uneasy. At heart she was a planner. She liked to write notes about every little thing she did. Whenever she organised an operation she'd often spend days observing.

But that wasn't an option here. They were working to a tight schedule dependent on the uncertain time when the White Fang considered Corvo missing.

Luckily they were helped by Corvo's nature. He had been a loner. On more than one occasion he'd disappeared from their hideout for days on end only to return without so much as an apology on his lips. He was known as somewhat a liability even within their unstable ranks.

But he was still tough, and there was only one way to get someone like Corvo to talk. She would have liked to have said it was the most brutal questioning she'd ever been unfortunate enough to witness but she couldn't. In comparison to some of the White Fang her methods were crude and simple.

If any of their cell happened to be captured; that person would talk. People always talked. That had at least been the truth. After being kept on the cusp between life and death in absolute agony for hours and sometimes even days on end they would say literally anything to make the pain stop. Ignoring morality that was the major drawback of torture; it was just impossible to guarantee that it produced reliable information.

That was why she had insisted on corroborating what Corvo had revealed through observations of her target. So far, at least her sins, and Yang's, seemed justified.

It was just a shame it had ruined what little had been left of her relationship with Yang. The bonds of partnership and they had formed at Beacon had been fraying ever since they started this sorry mission and that final act was apparently enough to sever them entirely.

Since then, Yang had given her the silent treatment. If Yang had to speak she'd just grunt one word answers. It was getting easier for Blake simply to avoid her. In the city that was easy, in a small apartment it wasn't. Coco and Velvet had both tried to get them to sit down, but after an hour of rock headed stubbornness from Yang and an increasingly impatient and angry Coco, Velvet had decided to call it a night; she'd invited Blake to share her room while Coco switched to the other one.

But of course Yang hadn't been any easier to deal with in the morning. She wouldn't even look Blake in the eyes. That was what was really pissing Blake off. It was like Yang blamed her for everything and that was complete crap.

Yang had agreed to play the role of the bait; she'd even said it would be fun. How was she to know that Yang hadn't just been acting? It wasn't like she'd had any trouble putting Corvo down when they'd got to the right place. If Yang really had been in trouble, all it would have taken was a flash of her Semblance to bring Blake to her side. But Yang hadn't. She'd continued to play the role she picked even when she had  _supposedly_ been in trouble.

And to cap it all off, Yang had  _agreed_  to be the muscle in the questioning. She'd known exactly what that would entail and had raised her hand anyway. It wasn't like it had been any easier for Blake. Watching her best friend's fist slam into a man's face again and again, it had been hard. So hard that her only defence against the sight was to slip into a frame of mind where there were no distractions, nothing but the objective.

It wasn't her fault that Yang couldn't separate herself like that. Yang hadn't been through what she had been through. Hadn't had to stand to the side of a dozen other interrogations much bloodier than that one while trying not to vomit.

And Yang had almost blown it all. Letting the subject see weakness was something that simply couldn't be done. It was a glimmer of hope that simply couldn't be allowed to shine. But Yang had caused it to burn brightly. It was her fault the interrogation had gone on so long really. Every time she hesitated it had given Corvo strength; without that, he would have cracked in half the time.

The only part where she could see Yang's blame was slightly justified was the different direction she had pushed Corvo towards after he had given up all the details on the office. But once Corvo had started talking it was only sensible to extract any information he knew.

Adam was the leader of the White Fang. Along with Cinder, he was the most important person in the city. They needed to know about him. Or at least that was what Blake tried to tell herself… In the corner of her mind a little voice replaced the  _they_ with  _I_.

And deep down, she had known beforehand that while someone might have been willing to give up facts related to their job, the fear of Adam was embedded much deeper. She'd known the moment she'd asked, and seen Corvo's eyes widen, that the intensity of the interrogation had to be increased. But at the same time, she'd simply had to get the answers.

They were the moments when Yang had openly questioned her. As if she couldn't see the benefits of finding out Adam's location. She'd never consider Yang weak. In many ways she was the strongest person that Blake knew, but still. She didn't have the stomach for what the real world entailed, and now she was taking it out on her.

It was almost as if Yang believed that she'd enjoyed it. That somehow her lack of reaction was indicative of pleasure when it couldn't be further from the truth. She'd hated every single blood-soaked second, but they were at war. That was what Yang didn't seem to get.

Sometimes it was necessary to do unsavoury things for the greater good. Sometimes it was necessary to do whatever it took get a piece of vital information. And sometimes it was necessary to cut the throat of a nearly unconscious man.

There were no magic drugs that were capable of removing someone's memories. Not with guaranteed success anyway. That Yang had believed the lie showed just how naïve she really was. It was why she'd feigned hearing someone coming. Yang would have stopped her. Would have told her it wasn't right. Maybe it wasn't, but Corvo couldn't be allowed to leave that alley.

She'd done it for them, and Yang's resentment was her payment.

But they didn't need to be friends to fight alongside one another. It was preferable yes, but it wasn't necessary. Yang might be giving her the silent treatment, but she was sure that Yang would still have her back if it came down to it. Which was the only reason she'd agreed to Coco's part suggestion, part frustrated order, to bring Yang along on the mission.

Not that either Yang or Coco were suited to this type of work. Neither knew the meaning of subtlety when it came to fighting. Instead, they were here to provide backup in the event of things going south, and to help the search if everything went to plan.

Velvet was quiet enough to come with her on the initial infiltration ̶ ̶ sometimes she would be an arm's length away and you'd overlook her ̶ ̶ but she had the same questions over her as Yang did. Just how far was she willing to go? It was a risk that Blake couldn't take, and the same reason why SSSN was waiting in a building down the street.

Sun had wanted to partner with her. Since they'd reconnected he never seemed that far away. It was good to have someone else to talk to when Yang was giving her the hard shoulder. But even if he wouldn't say what the resistance had done before she'd got here, she doubted they'd done anything like this.

No it was best it was just her. There was less likely to go wrong. A lower chance of alarms that would have the entire sector up in arms. The skills she'd use tonight were ones she'd honed through long hours of practice in the White Fang. Experience the others just didn't have.

The guard reached the end of the corridor and would undoubtedly start downstairs towards the breakroom. It was time.

"Right, stay here until I give you the all clear." Blake moved away from the window.

"I still don't like this. You shouldn't be going in alone." Coco repeated the argument she'd already made a dozen times before.

"We've gone through this. I'll be more effective by myself than having to worry about any of you. And anyway you're right across the street. If something goes bad you'll be able to get me out."

"Still ̶ ̶ "

Blake cut Coco off. "Coco this is what we agreed and there's no time to change the plan. We have to stick to it. Just wait for the signal."

"We will. Just be careful ok? Don't take any risks. If it's too hot pull back."

Blake nodded and knocked her knuckles against Coco's fist.

"Stay safe." Velvet got up from the middle of whatever witchcraft she was doing on the kitchen floor and gave her a brief hug.

Without any conscious thought her eyes found Yang. It had been in her mind to walk from here without looking back. To create the façade that she didn't care about their failing friendship. But she did care, even if it hurt too much to think about.

For a moment Yang just watched her. There was none of the comradeship in her stance that there had been at Beacon whenever one of them had wished the other well on a solo hunt or fight, instead Yang's posture was decidedly neutral. From it, no one would ever be able to guess that someone who had previously been her friend was going into a deadly situation.

Blake turned away, glad that in the darkened room no one apart from perhaps Velvet would have been capable of spotting the moisture gathering at the corner of her eyes. Her entire being cried out to repair things between them, but she didn't know how, not when it was Yang with the problem.

With a quick check of her weapons she headed towards the door only to find someone she'd forgotten about waiting for her. Neo.

No one had invited her. She'd just appeared at the door of their supposedly unoccupied apartment and scared the life out of them when she'd rung the bell. Of course she hadn't offered any explanation for her presence either. In answer to their questions all she'd done was stare with her unnatural eyes. Despite her slight stature, she was unnerving enough to cause even someone as brash as Coco to look away first.

With her and Yang trapped in a room it could have been a disaster, but Neo had stayed out of their way. In all honesty it hadn't looked like she wanted to be there. However it was what she did when she believed that no one was watching that gave Blake pause for thought.

Neo was… strange. That was the only way Blake could think to describe her. Spending more time in her company should have alleviated some of the initial impressions she'd given off but it just hadn't. Her behaviour fluctuated in-between aloof maturity and something else.

It was obvious that she had no desire to befriend them or to even clear the animosity in the air. Even if she couldn't speak, there were still ways she could have communicated. None of them knew sign language, but she could have stayed near them and at least tried to involve herself in the conversation about the last stages of their plan.

First she'd sat on the dining room table with her legs swinging freely underneath her, fidgeting with her parasol and watching them. It hadn't taken her long to get bored. Then she'd started rummaging through all the different drawers and cupboards in the apartment looking for who knew what.

As the sun had begun to set and Velvet had made dinner, Blake had decided to extend a hand towards Neo. She might have been culpable for the fall of Vale, and if the world was just would be made to pay for her crimes, but at the moment they had to work together.

Blake had eventually found Neo in the apartment's smallest bedroom, one which had been painted a garish shade of pink and was obviously a little girl's room. Neo herself hadn't noticed it when Blake had appeared in the crack of the partially open door, and Blake had paused in the act of pushing it.

Neo had been doing something that Blake wouldn't have expected. She'd been reading. Torchwick had continued to make Neo scribe for them at their meetings no matter how much she sulked although he never offered any explanation about it. Blake had thought that it was a hatred of being forced to do something she wasn't good at that earned Torchwick the scowls. At seeing Neo reading on her own Blake was forced to conclude it might have instead been embarrassment.

Reading had always come so naturally to her, thanks mainly to her parents sitting with her every night before bedtime with a book. In Remnant, though the world had many problems, illiteracy was not one of them. Everyone knew how to read and write. Even the Faunus were not denied a basic education. Yet here was a girl who was clearly struggling to do something everyone else could.

Blake couldn't help but once again wonder. Just what had Neo's childhood been like that she had missed out on such a basic skill? And just what others scars had it left? The book she'd been reading hadn't been a complex one, it was much more suited to the age of the owner of the room, but Neo's finger still marked her place underneath the large letters.

But it wasn't just the reading. Neo had been surrounded by stuffed animals. There were enough in the room that they might have been on the bed anyway and Neo could have sat in the middle of them, but the puppy that was lying in her lap and apparently reading the book with her made it highly unlikely. Despite who it was, the sight had lifted Blake's dark mood and she had backed away on silent feet before approaching more loudly and knocking.

Neo hadn't eaten at the table with them but had instead taken her bowl of soup back to the bedroom. It was where she had been for the rest of the evening right up until the point that Blake found her waiting by the door.

"What?" Blake asked, conscious of the time slipping away.

Neo just cocked her head and stared with wide eyes.

"What do you want?"

Neo unlocked the door and waved her through.

Blake shook her head and stepped into the corridor. Neo's motivations were just completely indecipherable to her. Torchwick might  _get_ her but the rest of them couldn't. Blake turned to say one last goodbye and saw Neo had followed her out.

"You're not coming with me."

Neo nodded. Her confident stance seemed to say  _try and stop me_  and Blake realised that they couldn't. All four of them could definitely overpower Neo but the commotion would compromise their objective.

"Fine, but do what I say." Neo didn't give any confirmation that she would. In all honesty Neo was perhaps better suited to this than the rest of Blake's team. Neo was close to silent most of the time and was extremely unlikely to protest against any of the things that Blake was psyching herself up for. Torchwick had likely sent her for this very reason.

With a final quick goodbye she jogged off in an effort to make up for lost time and Neo stayed in her shadow. They reached the alleyway at the side of the apartment building quickly and Blake stopped just outside the pool of light from the street.

This was the first obstacle. The district was in the heart of Vale and consequently ̶ ̶ thanks to the Dust rationing ̶ ̶ every third street light was still on. She didn't know how Torchwick had managed to find them an even temporarily available apartment in it, but as Sun had once said this was an area where Torchwick excelled.

Blake scanned up and down the street. Eventually they would just have to walk across, but she'd prefer to time it so they didn't encounter anyone. Gambol Shroud was currently in a sports bag so that wasn't an issue. Neo's weapon just made her look eccentric, not dangerous. It was still night though. Most people would be in their beds and them not being would be enough to incite investigation if a patrol saw them.

Not seeing anyone else on the road Blake stepped out trusting that Neo would be close on her heels. In the light Blake had to fight against her increasing temptation to break into a sprint. The build-up was always the worst part of any covert operation. No matter how meticulous the plan there was always an anticipation that things were about to go wrong.

Blake felt that now more than ever. She didn't know if it was just being the heart of a White Fang controlled city, or that she now had an unexpected companion, but her instincts just cried out that this night would not end well. The feeling was almost strong enough to make her abort the whole thing, but she couldn't. Not after what they'd done to gather the intel.

Gratefully Blake reached the darkness of the alley down the side of the office building. Extracting Gambol Shroud from her bag, she strapped it to her back. "Let's go."

Neo started towards the front entrance and Blake grabbed her arm. Things went wrong. Neo reacted with a silent ferocity that was completely at odds with the situation. With lightning speed a closed parasol cracked against Blake's wrist and a palm slammed into her chest pushing her back.

If not for the fact her Aura had been ready ever since leaving the apartment she would have sustained bruises if not worse. But the danger had not passed, Neo's white teeth were bared in rage, and the colour of her eyes shifted dangerously.

Blake held up her hands backing off. She could sense Neo was on the edge of attacking her with deadly intent. "Sorry." She made a mental note that Neo definitely did not like to be touched, but such a reaction spoke of something which was buried much deeper.

Neo herself remained stock still, both her hands clasped around her weapon; ready to unsheathe the blade hidden within.

"Sorry," Blake repeated. "But we can't go in the front. They'll see us." She really shouldn't have had to explain this to anyone, let alone someone who had most likely done this numerous times before. Once more, she was forced to question Neo's mental age. Her problems with literacy could have been the result of a poor education, but that lack of common sense was not something she would have expected of someone who was at least near her own number of years.

And Neo still didn't seem to get it, but at least her confusion replaced most of her anger. As she seemed so fond of doing she cocked her as her brow twisted.

There wasn't time to explain further. "Come on, the side door is this way."

Thankfully Neo followed her and Blake breathed out a quiet sigh of relief. Neo was unstable to say the least. Blake couldn't help but think of just how broad her back really was with Neo behind her.

The side door was little more than an exit for the janitors to take the trash out, and Blake bent down to examine the lock. It was a standard pin tumbler. She selected the appropriate tools from her kit, but as she knelt by it she caught Neo's expression out of the corner of her eye. It appeared as if she found something terribly amusing.

"What?" Blake hissed well aware of the futility of asking the question but unable to stop herself.

Neo just shrugged and made a few quick gestures that Blake couldn't understand. Blake turned back to the door, trying to put Neo's rapidly changing behaviour from her mind. At least she appeared to not be holding a grudge.

The lock fell quickly to her practiced probing and Blake pushed the door open, praying that their information wasn't wrong and that it wasn't alarmed. When no claxons filled the air she breathed out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes, visualising the layout of the floor and the paths the guards would take.

Blake gestured Neo to follow as she crept off, falling into a flat-footed gait that had served her so well in the past. Sneaking through buildings wasn't so unfamiliar to her. She didn't find it quite so natural as the forests. It was almost claustrophobic knowing a guard could step round the corner at any moment, but the lack of sight lines also worked in her favour.

The corridor was as one might have expected from a place of business, white ceiling tiles, cream walls, and a dark carpet. The rooms to either side, though filled with computers, were covered in dust. As of yet the White Fang had not managed to restore Vale back to its pre-invasion workforce. Sourcing replacements for those who had once worked here was particularly difficult when the majority of the Faunus arriving were used to menial labour.

Blake's ears twitched as a door clicked shut and she checked her watch. Right on time. She only just managed to stop herself from pulling Neo into an empty room, and instead made universal hand signals to "follow" and "be quiet".

Blake closed her eyes and listened. It was hard to hear when the corridors were designed to muffle sound, but the guard would take a few steps, presumably check on the rooms either side and then move on.

By her count she still had a few minutes and she slowed her breathing. In and out, in and out. The guard's bored but jolly whistling grated against her senses and she did her best to ignore it. Someone working the graveyard shift wouldn't be part of White Fang's elite. It was very likely they had only joined up because the White Fang offered a job and hope, but everyone who aligned their goals with the White Fang was the enemy.

She clung to that rational and slowly her mind began to slip away from her until it reached another state. It was one she had heard described many different ways, by the great swordsmen of the past right up to the Special Forces sharpshooters of today, there seemed to be no universal name but to her it was the _illusion of elsewhere_. When she was lost in its nothingness she could react faster, more instinctively, and, more importantly for what she was planning to do, without emotion.

As the guard moved ever closer her hands carefully drew her weapon from her pocket and began unravelling it. It wasn't Gambol Shroud. For this type of work it left too much up to chance. If she engaged someone with a strong Aura her first blow might not silence them. There was a much more effective method of silently neutralising guards, one that had been used for centuries.

She tested the strength of the wire running between the two handles. A garrotte was such a simple tool, you could make one in the middle of the wilderness out of only what you could find and yet its use had persisted.

Not that she'd ever used one before. She'd seen Adam and others use them. In the White Fang she'd been too small and hadn't had the weight necessary; now that wasn't so much an issue. Her fitness regime had ensured that her body was packed with muscle. Though many would likely still have more mass than her, it shouldn't be decisive.

With the guard only one set of doors away she crossed her arms in front of her, bringing the wire taut and forming a triangle between it and her forearms with just enough space for a head to fit through. With only seconds left she primed her Semblance.

There was a fifty-fifty chance that the guard would check her room instead of the other first and as it always seemed to happen the even odds went against her. His flashlight illuminated her face just feet from him and he leapt almost a foot in the air.

Or at least that was what he thought he saw. In reality just as he was uttering the first syllable of surprise the shape in front of him dissolved and something slipped over his head. The guard's cry was cut off and his hands went to his throat as the wire wrapped tightly around his neck.

Blake pulled as much as she were able, feeling the iron-hard resistance as the garrotte met his now flared Aura. It was stronger than average and it provided him the opportunity to draw air into his lungs and thrash. Blake's spine cracked the plaster as she was slammed against the wall, but she managed to avoid letting up the pressure.

With one finger beneath the wire he used his free hand to hit out at her but his blows simply lacked the leverage to do any real damage. Blake hung on and the guard found out why the garrotte had never needed to be improved.

Auras could withstand any number of blows right up until they failed, but they weren't capable of withstanding sustained pressure. Slowly, gradually the wire edged millimetre by millimetre closer to his skin. In his struggles he stumbled and Blake almost lost her grip as they both fell to the floor. It brought him a few more seconds of respite.

The guard's weight pressed heavily on her chest, but from that position she was more or less immune from his attacks. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling on the handles all the while. He threw his head back and his skull bounced from the Aura over her chin.

Blake's nose had been full of the scent of sweat and the one she associated with fear in people, but now she picked out the first coppery traces of blood. The media seemed to portray assassins using garrottes because they were clean and left no evidence, but it couldn't be further from the truth.

The act of strangling someone wasn't as messy as stabbing someone for sure and perhaps it was possible to use a thick rope, but that only gave the victim more of a chance to get a hold of it. Proper garrottes used a thin wire and that meant blood.

Blake could smell the exact moment that, even though his Aura was still between his skin and the garrotte, his flesh gave way. The thin wire sliced into the solitary finger he'd managed to wriggle underneath and with the strength of both her arms behind it, it cut all the way down to the bone.

But it didn't stop there. The bone cracked under the force and the tip of his finger came loose. Blake fought the urge to gag as it rolled from her cheek and continued to pull. All along the circumference of his throat blood began to seep out.

Thanks to the ears atop her head, it was all too loud. She could hear his rampant, panicked heartbeats as well as her own, she could hear what little air that managed flow into his lungs, and with explosive clarity she heard the exact moment that his trachea ruptured.

His ragged breaths became gurgles as blood started to fill his lungs and his struggles ceased. Even within the  _illusion of elsewhere_  the close nature was almost too much for Blake. She'd killed people before yes, cutting Corvo's throat had been hard, but it just hadn't had the personal nature that this did.

Every one of his struggles was translated to her along the full length of their bodies. His feet kicked weakly against hers, his fingernails clawed at her side, and through the warmth and the smell she knew his bladder had let go.

With his body limp most would release him. They would think him dead and move on, but Adam had taught her better than that. It might have been a trick. Blake pulled harder. The wire continued its passage through his flesh.

She didn't know how long she held on for, it could have been thirty seconds, it could have been a minute, but when she finally let go she saw Neo standing above her. The smile she wore unnerved Blake to a degree she wouldn't have thought possible when she'd spent so much time in the White Fang. It was the smile of the entirely deranged. Neo had enjoyed the show.

That finally stripped whatever little protection Blake had managed to form to separate her from her emotions away. The stench that hit her nose was putrid. Sweat, urine, faeces, and blood. So much blood. Her hands and chest were caked in it. The guard's carotid artery had been severed and the last pumps of his heart had spilled the contents of his body all over her.

Blake pushed him off her and rolled away. Some people took great satisfaction in killing. Neo was surely one of them, Adam another, but never her. The values her parents had tried to imbue in her were just too strong. Life was a miracle and any crime against it was an aberration.

They were her parents, and of course she agreed with what they had dedicated their whole lives towards, but only to an extent. She had been subjected to events they had not. Sometimes it was necessary to take a life to save another. That was what she had done here. Here at least she could justify her actions. Looking back at the crimes she'd committed in the White Fang she simply couldn't.

Staring down at what she had done, breathing in the scent of blood and soiled underwear, she had to remind herself that he was a terrorist supporting an organisation that had killed so many. No matter how much he just looked like any other security guard from all over the world.

Some might have said she shouldn't have killed him, that there was no need. She was sure that was what the other members of her team would have said as well. But they didn't understand that it was the only way to make sure. Knocking someone with Aura unconscious was difficult, there was no way to accurately judge how much force was needed in the blow, or just how long it would take them to wake up. Drugs weren't an option either. A quantity that would kill one person would barely make another's eyes droop. Anaesthesiologists took detailed measurements of a patient's bodyweight and Aura strength to decide a dose. It would have been far too much guesswork for her.

Here, with a White Fang controlled police station only two blocks away, that was a chance she simply couldn't take. Not when the safety of everyone assigned to this mission was resting on her shoulders. Dead men couldn't raise alarms.

But they could haunt you, and his spectre joined all the others that hounded her through the nights. She had given him plenty of material with the way the wire had sliced almost completely through to his spine, or the way it clung to his flesh when she attempted to retrieve it.

Blake recoiled at that and yanked the garrotte free, but Neo leaned closer. She at least didn't seem to be bothered by the blood or the gore in the slightest.

"Come on," Blake whispered. There shouldn't be another guard checking this section of the floor so it was fairly safe leaving his body where it lay. Not that it would have mattered with the pool of blood soaking into the carpet or the cracked wall that suggested a struggle.

If the information Corvo had supplied was correct there should be another three guards on this floor, two in the security room and one patrolling the far side of the building. Her plan had originally been to take him down first and lure the two guards from the security room. It would have been more difficult and prone to failure but it was the best option when she had been alone. Now she wasn't.

"Do you think you can take a guard down silently?" Blake asked. She didn't think it possible that anyone had ever looked as offended to a question as Neo appeared then.  _What was she thinking? Of course the psychopath could._  "Right. I'll go for one, you take the other. And remember, quiet."

They made quick progress to the security room. Their surroundings transitioned from the offices that only those who were employees would see to the more expensive atrium that visitors would experience. Slowly Blake turned the handle on the door praying that it wouldn't squeak.

As it cracked open the noise from the television she'd picked up became louder. The two guards were sitting in their chairs in front of a bank of monitors. Having two guards instead of one was meant to ensure that they remained focussed on their jobs, but of course that only worked when both of the guards weren't bored. Night after night they came to work and absolutely nothing happened, there was only so long they could remain alert in such circumstances.

Unfortunately for them, this night would be different. Blake crept forward, testing each bit of the floor before she put her whole weight on it. Neo was right beside her, hidden blade in hand.

Blake zeroed in on her target, tensing the crimson-stained wire and her muscles. She and Neo moved as one. Blake wrapped the wire round the guard's throat and yanked backwards. His chair tipped over just as she'd expected and through the fulcrum of his neck she directed his momentum so he came down hard on his front. Blake dropped on top of him putting all her weight on top of his spine. In that position he couldn't do anything and even as his Aura began to give way Blake checked on Neo.

And immediately wished she hadn't. Neo was being… enthusiastic about her role. Perhaps blades weren't what most professionals would have chosen when it was necessary to neutralise someone silently but seeing Neo in action would make them reconsider.

Her guard was crumpled on the floor, the back of his shirt pierced in a dozen places, and Neo showed no signs of letting up. Her blade lanced in and out of his body in a frenzy, blood spraying across the room every time she withdrew it, and a grin of absolute sadistic glee was plastered on her face.

The guard had to be dead. No one could lose that much blood or sustain that many wounds and live, but Neo kept on carving away. It was an act of savagery that far transcended any meaningful goal. Neo was doing it only because she wanted to.

Blake wanted to be able to turn away but the only things she had to distract her were the now weak struggles of the person underneath her. In the end there wasn't much difference between her and Neo. When they left this room there would be two bodies in it. They were both killers. There were no shades of right and wrong. They would forever be lumped together in the same group. If there was such a construct as hell they would surely end up as its residents together.

Blake wiped her garrotte on the guard's clothes and stood. In reality, her guard had bled no less than Neo's, only hers was centralised under his throat rather than scattered all over the room and even on the ceiling.

Neo herself was breathing heavily, but as Blake watched she raised her sword to her mouth and lovingly ran her tongue along its crimson length. Her eyes fluttered with utter ecstasy as she savoured the taste of the man she had killed.

Blake looked away. She just wasn't able to correlate the cute girl who attempted to overcome her struggles with literacy while surrounded by stuffed animals with the person who stood in front of her. Even in her time in the White Fang she hadn't encountered such extremes.

Adam had always been a sociopath. Everyone had recognised that about him, only she had been blind to it. The same could be said of the others who enjoyed causing pain. They hadn't done things like play with stuffed animals. They were instead the sort of people that were recognised instinctively as dangerous. Neo with her diminutive stature wasn't. She wasn't scarred, or heavily muscled; only her eyes would perhaps cause someone to take a step back. They had good reason. It was often said that eyes were the portal to the soul and as Neo looked at her with blood covered lips Blake had trouble meeting hers.

Instead she turned to the monitors and attempted to locate the last guard on this floor. The security feeds didn't prove particularly helpful. The cameras were mainly focused externally rather than on the offices.

He was the last one left on this floor and they couldn't afford to leave him roaming around freely.

"Ok I'm going to find the last one. You stay here." Neo pouted as though Blake had just said she couldn't have an ice cream. "Make sure no one finds these guys. If they do, you know…" That instruction at least seemed to mollify her somewhat.

Blake left her and began padding through the corridors keeping her ears alert. Normally she would have an advantage over most, but there was no way of telling what kind of Faunus the guard would be. Some barely had senses better than humans while others like her had most of their senses heightened.

But for all of her genes she was unable to locate the last guard. She was following the likely route of their patrol, listening for a heavy footstep or a door closing only there was nothing. She had paused in a T-junction and was considering the possibility that they had gone upstairs when a door clicked not ten feet from her.

Blake froze, her mind running through all her possible options. She could rush them, but that was unlikely to be quiet and a single shot would ruin everything. She could run, but she wouldn't have the time to get fully out of sight before they saw her. In the end she pushed herself backwards, huddling in the darkness at the foot of a vending machine.

As he came through the door the reek of smoke came with him. That at least explained where he'd been. Blake didn't dare breathe. All he needed to do was turn around and start walking away from her.

But he didn't, instead he grumbled under his breath about something and switched his flashlight on, sweeping it through the darkened corridors. That at least was a blessing. To her these corridors were traversable without any external sources of light, that he needed one suggested that as long as his flashlight didn't land directly on her, her hiding space should be safe.

It was unnerving being so close to the enemy but not being able to move. Her heart was beating so loudly in her chest it was like a drum; it was inconceivable that he couldn't hear it. He walked closer, the flashlight illuminating the ground at his feet.

Blake tensed her garrotte, the moment he turned his back to her she'd make her move. She waited and just as he was almost in position, Neo walked around the corner to Blake's right. She moved like she didn't have a care in the world, her parasol was unfurled and she was spinning it above her head. It looked more like she was strolling along a pier at the beach rather than infiltrating a building in an enemy held city.

The guard hadn't seen her yet but he would the moment he looked up and somehow Neo hadn't seen him either, so lost was she in her own world. Blake ran through expletives in her head as she rose. This was why she preferred to work alone. Other people just made things more complicated.

The guard swept his flashlight down the corridor and for a heartbeat it paused on Neo's chest. Then it moved on. Blake paused in her act of coming to Neo's rescue. There was no way he hadn't seen her, not when she was stood right in front of him, but he showed no reaction to her presence. As for Neo herself, she just smirked.

The guard's head snapped around he brought his flashlight to bear on the corridor directly in front of Blake.

"Damn it Fal! You scared the life out of me," the guard jumped as his flashlight illuminated his colleague.

Blake's mouth fell open as she saw a ghost. The man walking towards them was the same one that Neo had killed. The same hair, the same ears, the same face, only his clothes were intact and he was unwounded.

"Are… are you ok?" The guard peered closer as  _Fal_  continued to close on him. His skin was deathly pale and was practically luminescent in the flashlight's beam.

A rictus grin elongated Fal's face at the question and his head began to turn. For a moment Blake thought he was in the process of a slow shake, but his head didn't stop. It continued to rotate, well past point that should have been possible and the continued crunches of bone were sickening.

Blake back pressed up against the wall behind her, all thoughts of her objective gone from her mind. This was wrong, so wrong. In her life she had seen many things that served as ample nightmare material, but watching as someone's head completed an entire revolution still with the grin on his face went right near the top of the pile. It was a scene from a horror movie made real.

The guard didn't handle it any better. "Fuck, fuck." He fumbled his gun in the act of drawing it but he managed to centre the sights on the thing that had once been his friend. To his credit he didn't hesitate.

Guns are loud and that is doubly so when fired inside. The gunshot echoed up and down the corridor and despite the guard's obvious distress his shot didn't miss. But it may as well have done for all the effect it had.

The bullet struck  _Fal_  in the cheek and the side of his face erupted in a spray of red and white. But the grin never faltered and  _Fal_ took another step.

The guard's first shot may have been aimed, but what followed was strictly panic fire. As the aberration continued to close on him he squeezed the trigger as quickly as possible. Fresh wounds blossomed all over  _Fal_  but when the slide clicked open they hadn't been enough. The guard's pistol tumbled from his shaking hands.

Before her eyes  _Fal's_  shirt shredded itself and he began to bleed from scores of small incisions, the crimson running down his legs and soaking into the carpet. A red line started on one side of his stomach and began unlocking the flesh like a zip. Grey coils slipped to the floor.

Out of the corner of her horror filled eyes Blake caught sight of Neo. Far from being scared Neo was bouncing on her toes and her hands were pressed together as though she were about to clap. Neo saw Blake's attention had turned on her, and just as  _Fal_ began to scoop more of his internal organs out of the cut, she threw out her arms in a theatrical bow.

_Neo_. That was at least somewhat of a relief to Blake. She wasn't going insane. The dead weren't rising from their graves. It was just her. Presumably using whatever her Semblance actually was. Neo made a gesture towards her that said  _after you_.

So terrified was the guard with the nightmare in front of him he had stumbled backwards towards Blake's hiding spot. It was too tempting a target to ignore. She would have liked to say it wasn't easier. Taking a life should always have been hard but subconsciously she'd been learning from her previous kills. The guard barely had a chance to fight back as a wire wrapped around his neck and he was hauled to the floor.

As far as he was concerned it was only an extension of the nightmare in front of him, but unlike with Neo's phantasms the danger was very real. The guard's Aura was weaker than most or he had lost control of it in his terror, for it only provided a brief moment of resistance before it gave way.

After that it was over quickly. From her position on top of him Blake could make use of the muscles throughout her body and his flesh yielded as easily as if she'd been using a blade. His booted foot thumped into the ground once before he went still.

When Blake looked up she found that her actions had gathered an audience. Neo had the same look of enraptured exultation on her face as she had earlier when she'd watched someone die, but she wasn't disturbing in the least compared to the thing standing next to her.

Fal just looked so real. Much like the times when Neo had created an illusion of Torchwick or herself there was simply no way to tell the difference between her creations and reality. They were perfect replicas and that only made what she'd done to Fal all the worse.

But Neo's talent for deception wasn't just limited to sounds. Blake distinctly remembered the guard drawing and firing his weapon, her ears were still ringing slightly, and yet the pistol was still in its holster. The tactile and audio feedback from the illusions had been so real that the guard hadn't realised his hand had only drawn empty air.

Not to mention that the guard had entirely overlooked her when she'd been stood unconcernedly in the middle of the corridor. Neo could apparently make herself invisible, or as good as. Now that Blake knew about that aspect of her Semblance Neo's confusion at sneaking through a backdoor suddenly seemed rational. Her common sense had not in fact been lacking, it was very likely that Neo could in fact have walked in through the main entrance with the security personnel none the wiser.

Blake was forced to question whether Torchwick was actually as good as he said he was, or if most of his successes were made possible by the unique abilities of the girl standing next to her.

Still, Neo might have had talents that were equal to many who had graduated as a hunter, but she had an awful lot more problems. No one who was entirely right in the head could have dreamed up a show like Blake had been forced to witness. Even now as Blake moved away from the gradually increasing pool of blood under the person she had killed Fal continued to stare at her with unblinking and unmistakably dead eyes.

The soullessness sent shivers down her spine. "Could you like… get rid of him?"

Neo pouted and the expression was mirrored on the half of Fal's face that hadn't been carved away by an illusory bullet. Blake got the distinct feeling that Neo was teasing her.

"Please," Blake said. Even though she wasn't looking at him she could feel his gaze.

There was a crack like an errant ball hitting a window and  _Fal_ shattered. Whatever had made up his body splintered on the floor until the individual pieces seemed to dissolve. Within a few seconds nothing remained.

"Thanks," Blake said her mind already moving onto the next stage to avoid thinking about what she'd done. As long as she kept busy those particular thoughts would only be allowed to return in the inactivity of night.

So far things had gone to plan. When the guard had pulled his gun and fired things had seemed like they were spiralling out of control, but judging by Neo's nonchalant attitude the gunshot had been part of the illusion as well and hadn't extended past this corridor. That just left two White Fang inside the building on the upper floors. But first the rest of their team could begin searching the occupied offices on this floor.

Blake pulled out her phone and sent the agreed texts to Coco and Sun informing them that everything had gone to plan so far. With that done she turned back to Neo.

"Ok, you take the guard on the next floor up. I'll handle the one on the top." After witnessing Neo in action, Blake no longer had any reservations about if she would be able to get the job done. The only worry was just what Neo was planning to subject her victim to, judging by the wide smile lighting up her face, she had ideas that were better left unexplored.

Blake nodded goodbye and set off to add weight to the burden that already caused her shoulders to sag.

* * *

 

Blake heard them before seeing them and she really shouldn't have been able to. This was meant to be a covert operation not an opportunity to mess around, but no one appeared to have told Sun and Neptune that.

_Scratch that_. She had. Multiple times. What she'd been forced to do tonight would trouble her for who knew how long, and yet Sun and Neptune were mucking around. Back at Beacon they'd been jokers and that had been fine, but they weren't at school any longer.

"Would you two shut up!" Blake heard Coco hiss at them through the hall and their laughter became muffled.

They might not have been at school any longer, but Coco had still managed to use her seniority to assume control of the cell. In truth, Blake was sure Sun was glad to take a back seat. Ever since the rest of his team had returned from the recon mission he'd somewhat returned to his old self.

The report Sage had given regarding why the majority of the White Fang had deserted the city on the day that Blake and the others infiltrated Vale had certainly been enlightening and disturbing.

The largest mining and processing complex that the White Fang had managed to restore to a working condition, and one they were relying on to supply the city, had been razed to the ground and everyone working there slaughtered.

That would have been a significant blow for the White Fang alone, but it hadn't been a hit and run attack. The first units to enter the ruins had been almost wiped out as they came under heavy fire and those still on approach had found themselves under bombardment from the air.

Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet hadn't recognised the fighters or the aircraft ̶ ̶ only being able to say they had no defining features apart from being almost entirely black ̶ ̶ but the rest of them had. For Blake it had been pushing logic to the extreme to suggest the appearance of the SDC's elite forces had been a coincidence.

They'd told Weiss about their mission and less than a day later the SDC had carried out an attack that just happened to draw most of the White Fang away from Vale. It had to be planned and that had only left Blake wondering just how much authority Weiss actually had at the SDC.

Blake hoped it had just been a wishful suggestion from Weiss to her father for him to help them. Blake didn't want to consider the possibility that her friend had had more input than that, that she'd had anything to do with the hundreds of casualties Sage had said they saw. Weiss surely wasn't capable of ordering such an act. But then Weiss likely wouldn't have expected her to be able to strangle four men to death in a single night.

No, Blake shook her head. She wouldn't believe it. Weiss was sweet, good, everything a Schnee should be. It couldn't have been her, it must have been Arian.

But then war altered everything it touched. Sun might have nearly returned to his old self, but he wasn't quite the same. None of his team were. The events they'd been forced to live through had changed them, and in some of their cases for the better.

Since they'd first met and Neptune had tried to hit on her almost every meeting. She'd disliked him. That dislike had turned to loathing when she saw the way he treated Weiss. As awful as it was to say it he had rarely appeared in her thoughts about who she'd lost in Vale.

But that Neptune  _had_  died. All the cheesy pickup lines, the chasing after every girl he saw, had vanished and been replaced as someone who could only be described as better. Neptune had been badly injured and that had apparently caused him to reassess just what values he wanted to hold dear.

He was still cocky and he said his scars made him look like a rogue, but he was less in people's faces. He hadn't once made an inappropriate comment to any of them. Maybe it was just he had once tried that with Neo and had been made to regret it, but she doubted it.

It was likely that all his flirting, and even the awful things he'd done to Weiss had been born from a lack of real confidence. It was often said the best way to feel confident was to fake it until you had it, and that was probably what he had done. Acting possessively over Weiss had likely just been his way of trying to make sure she didn't leave him. He'd stopped obsessing over how other people saw him and consequently Blake could now bear to be in the same room as him.

She pushed open the door to the office and all the movement she could hear in the darkened room suddenly ceased. They needn't have bothered, any Faunus, whether they had exceptional hearing or not, would have been able to hear the racket they were making.

"It's just me," Blake said looking around. The search the others had been carrying out was not one that would go unnoticed. Drawers had been pulled out of filing cabinets and their contents tossed about while Neptune and Sun were meant to be ripping every hard drive they could from the computers in the room.

"Blake thank…" Sun trailed off and his mouth fell open as Blake stepped out from behind one of the waist high cubicle dividers.

Blake followed his gaze, he was staring at her body. Or more accurately he was staring at her clothes and hands that were still drenched in the bodily fluids from the first guard. She'd gotten used to it, but to him the smell must have been close to overpowering.

Everyone else had gone silent too and were just gawking. Did none of them realise why they were able to laugh? It was almost as if they were judging her. What did they think she was going to do here? They might not have had to get their hands dirty, but someone had to.

"What…" Sun couldn't finish whatever question he'd come up with.

"It's nothing." Blake turned away and caught sight of the trailing end of a brunette mane leaving the room.

_Fuck!_  Blake almost screamed. She hadn't meant it like that. Killing was never nothing. She'd just wanted everyone to get back to work. Make her crimes actually mean something, but Yang had taken it another way.

She knew how much Yang valued life. A thrill seeker like her lived for it. It was part of the reason why she always put herself in the positions where it might be necessary to kill. She didn't want to know what it would do to Yang to kill in cold blood.

But once again Yang seeing her for who she really was, a murderer covered in blood, only made the chasm between them wider. In days gone past she would have hurried after Yang and tried to explain, but too much damage had already been done.

Instead she just let Yang stride away from her.

"Uhh… right." Sun still stared at the blood. Judging by his reaction, it was unlikely that the cell had been involved in the messier side of things before their arrival.

"Have you found anything?" Blake asked Coco mainly to direct attention away from her.

"Nothing major, not yet, but we've only really got started. We should have about six hours before we need to get out of here right?" Blake nodded. "Good. Here's something interesting though, the White Fang have apparently been exporting things to Atlas."

Coco handed her a sheaf of shipping manifests. By themselves they didn't reveal all that much, the cargo and passenger descriptions were painfully non-descript. Twenty tonnes of fresh produce, three tonnes of disassembled agricultural equipment, five hundred litres of fertiliser, and seven technicians. The most interesting thing was that the manifest was not printed on paper with a Valesh letterhead, but instead indicated that the ships point of origin had been Mistral.

The date of departure had been so long ago that depending on the type of ship it could already have arrived at its destination. The fabrications pretty much guaranteed that it wasn't a simple shipment of agricultural goods. It was a piece of information that Torchwick and Ozpin would definitely be interested in.

"Anything more like this?" Blake asked.

Coco shrugged. "I don't know. I got lucky to find that in the first place. Velvet, Sage, and Scarlet might have more. They should be one floor up if you want to ask them. Oh and try and find Neo while you are at it. I haven't seen her at all."

"Sure." It wasn't that surprising; she doubted that Neo would be interested in something as mundane as a search. "Come up when you're done here."

Blake left the room, her mind heavy with the possible ramifications of what even their brief search had uncovered. If the White Fang had sent one ship it was likely that they had sent more. What they were planning to do she didn't know, but when they had already successfully bombed Tintagel Castle. Who knew what the next step of their plans was?

Without conscious thought her feet carried her on the most direct route to the nearest staircase, but unfortunately the most direct route was also the one the initial guard had been patrolling. The still, heavy air of the corridor stank; that alone would have been enough to make her turn back and find another way, if not for the fact that the guard was not alone in the corridor.

Yang was standing frozen above him, her mouth aghast in what could only be described as absolute horror. It wasn't hard to see why. The scene of a murder should have been disturbing enough, but the corridor was different to how Blake had left it.

When she'd moved on from the scene of her crime his throat had been cut and the struggle had splattered blood over the carpet but that had been it. It would have certainly been enough to cause nightmares in all but the most desensitised person, but it hadn't been that bad. Not really. Not compared to what was there now.

The guard had been dismembered in a gratuitous display of savagery. His limbs had been scattered across the corridor, his ribs had been splayed open and his internal organs ripped out, and above his mutilated head a message had been daubed onto the wall with blood.

_The Price of Treason._

While Blake had been absorbing the gruesome scene Yang had finally managed to tear her own eyes away from it. But not for long, her gaze flicked between the body and Blake's blood drenched clothes.

Blake saw Yang connect the dots in her head. "Yang, it ̶ ̶ "

"Who are you?" Yang asked the question with utter disbelief in her voice.

Blake's own throat seized up at the look of loathing on Yang's face.  _What could she say to that?_  She might not have carried out the act, but she could see the logic behind it. And it had been her hand that had ended the guard's life.

Yang turned away, throwing a fire door open with enough force that it clattered off the wall. Blake didn't follow her out into the night. Yang's question still clattered around her mind.

_Who was she?_

Standing surrounded by a scene that should have her retching but instead hardly made her feel at all. Her hands stained with the life blood of people who had a few short hours ago clocked in for a boring night's work. She thought back through everything she'd done since returning to Vale.

_Who was she?_

Blake just didn't know anymore.

 


	21. Chapter 21

"I really don't agree with this course of action," Erashan said from where he stood beside and slightly behind where Weiss was sat in an unfamiliar office above a warehouse.

She sighed. That statement was getting repetitive. It felt like Erashan had said it in one form or another at least a dozen times. He shouldn't question her, not when she'd made her position perfectly clear.

"But it is my will and you will abide by it."

"Of course my lady." His tone suggested the words should have been accompanied by a bow.

Weiss frowned. Erashan was too well bred to openly show discontent in this scenario. But, even if he scorned the games those who shared his bloodlines played, he'd picked up some of their tricks. He would never usually use an appellation to address her when they were alone; that he did now was just a subtle comment on what he was really thinking.

Not that she would ever be able to get him to admit it; not without a direct order. Normally he addressed her as Weiss. She may have been his direct superior now, but she was sure he still saw her as the young girl whose life had been so miserable. She'd never be able to thank him for everything he'd done for her. Without him she'd never have learned to fight, never have gone to Beacon, and never would have met Ruby.

But he was also overprotective. He still sought to shield her from the consequences of her actions, reducing everything to simple words on paper. He might have said it was for efficiency's sake, but she knew the truth.

Even so, in many ways he was the perfect person to have at her left hand. Under his leadership ADRG had grown to the premier fighting force on the planet. Before her appointment he'd overseen their recruitment, training, and the development of their equipment; he'd done it all while performing the other responsibilities his public position as  _Director of Security_  entailed.

He'd never stated it outright but she'd known him long enough to tell just how relieved he was to no longer spend twelve hours in an office every day. She sometimes felt the same way. The job her father had entrusted her with could have been close to overwhelming without effective people under her. Erashan was one of those. He never told her something was impossible, he just found a way to get it done; he didn't require constant micromanagement, and more often than not he managed to solve problems before they had a chance to materialise.

But more importantly he was loyal, to her, not her father. Though nominally he owed his allegiance to the Lord Schnee, he'd never forgiven her father for the role he played in the death of his own.

If it bothered her father that his head of security likely hated him he didn't show it. After all, half the world would likely pay to spit on his grave. What was one more? As long as everyone did as they were told, that was all her father cared about.

Weiss knew she was different. She strove to be different. Solid foundations could not be built out of fear. She could greet every single member of ADRG by name, she could enquire about the families of all the different officers the SDC had hired in the past few months, and she even tried to do the same with the thousands of conscripts who were currently toiling their way through basic training again.

Though the latter had been beyond her, her way was better. If it came down to a choice between her and her father, she knew who Erashan would pick. That was a scenario that she never wanted to come to pass. It wouldn't be fair to put him in a position where he had to choose between his honour and his feelings, not to mention it would mean her own father had turned against her completely, but she was also aware that what Winter had said was the truth.

If her father found out about Ruby, she would be in danger. If it came down to that her father would learn that no leader had a divine right to rule; instead they were held in power by those under them. Those her father had given her command over.

Power may be wielded by the few, but it is only made possible through the hands of the many.

Erashan was just one of those many hands and she was busy utilising his talents today. He remained perfectly still next to her chair, not a flicker of emotion on his face, but his displeasure almost radiated outwards.

Weiss sighed again, audibly this time. "Go ahead."

"You are putting yourself in unnecessary danger." He didn't look towards her as he spoke but watched the only door into the room intently.

Weiss didn't answer straight away, instead fingering the hilt of Myrtenaster. Her sword, one of her most prized possessions in the entire world was resting horizontally across her knees. Its weight was almost unfamiliar to her.

It had been so long since she'd had any need to remove it from its display stand for anything other than training. At one time she'd believed it would be her key to unlocking the life she wanted to lead, not the one her father would have chosen for her.

In many ways it had been. Without it she never would have been able to impress her father enough for him to give her this opportunity. But it had also been an opportunity where she'd moved past needing to wield a weapon.

The strokes of keys on her computer or her flowing signature, were all it took to set a dozen raids into motion. No one could be expected to wield that magnitude of power and remain unchanged.

It would be all too easy for her to forget the real consequences of her actions. The danger she was sending her troops into. That wasn't the leader she wanted to be. She wanted to be the one who would gain the respect of those under her. The way for her to achieve that was for her not to ask anything of them that she wouldn't do herself.

It was hypocritical of Erashan to lecture her on her decision when he himself led a significant number of raids. He was a director on the board of the SDC and the lord of a house, he had a wife waiting for him at home, and yet he threw himself into danger time and time again.

He did because he cared about those under his leadership, and Weiss cared too. But as much as she felt obligated to lead her troops into combat it simply hadn't been practical. She couldn't fly to Vale when she had a thousand and one other things competing for her attention.

This mission though was different. She was not in Vale, not pushing back the boundaries of the land the White Fang claimed as their own. No, she was in Atlas.

Vale had been bad enough, but she'd had limited power to prevent it. Here in Atlas, the city her family had protected for countless generations, the one she was honour bound to defend, only her father and perhaps Ozpin could wield more power.

The bombing of Tintagel Castle had disgraced her in the eyes of her father. The White Fang had struck right under her nose, but she would not allow for them to do it again. This was something that she had to oversee personally, which was why she was sitting in this office.

"I am in no more danger than you are," Weiss said finally. She knew she should have been feeling nervous, seeing as any moment she could be thrust into the middle of combat, but she didn't. Instead she was calm. It was strange. Even before fighting in the tournament she'd almost been shaking with trepidation, but in Vale she'd looked into the eye of the beast so to speak. After that what was fear?

"And I would never willingly put myself in this scenario," Erashan responded to her and Weiss narrowed her eyes.

"That's a lie and you know it. I've read the reports you sent back to my father after Ozpin requested his help to send a message to the White Fang. You attacked their hideouts singlehandedly."

Those files had been a shock. Stupidly she'd never connected the SDC with the almost daily, and largely celebrated attacks that had been reported in Vale's newspapers. It had been her belief it had been Vale's response or maybe a vigilante hunter.

"That was simply a case of logistics. I happened to be in Vale preparing for Winter's arrival and we couldn't risk the White Fang escaping while I waited for reinforcements. That is not the case here. This is foolhardy. I cannot guarantee your safety."

" _You cannot guarantee my safety_ ," Weiss mimicked him. The comment irked her. She was a huntress and had faced far worse than the scum she was here for. "You are not my bodyguard. I do not need protecting."

"Everyone needs help at some point Weiss. Do not forget that. You are an exceptionally skilled fighter, but there is always someone better. And it is possible that the person who is better than both of us might walk through that door." His tone had reverted from respect to one of lecturing his student.

Weiss stared ahead and swallowed her angry retort. Perhaps he was right if the pyromancer from Vale walked through that door, then they might have a problem.  _Might_. But the dregs of the White Fang? What could they do against either of them?

"I will not change my mind Erashan." He made to speak again and she cut him off with the tone she'd learned from her father. "That decision is final."

She knew she'd been hard on him, but he had to stop seeing her as the defenceless, naïve girl he'd known before. She was an adult in command of a military that could rival those of other countries. She'd done things which others would never have had the stomach to do. Whatever childhood she'd had lay buried in the ashes of Vale.

Erashan barely breathed as they waited. Despite what she'd said, he still stood in the position a bodyguard would. If he was nervous he didn't show it, but that didn't really surprise her. He'd never been one for outward displays of emotion. She could count the times she witnessed those rare occurrences on one hand. His wedding, when his father had been abducted, and his father's funeral.

From her chair Weiss looked around even if there wasn't much point. They'd already made a preliminary search of the office and apart from one thing they'd found nothing. If the White Fang who had made their way to her city had any valuable intel it was likely on their person.

The room itself was grotty, but then the entire warehouse was cheap. Perhaps the White Fang believed a sector like this was the best place to operate from without discovery ̶ ̶ it was certainly popular with the criminal element of the city ̶ ̶ but in the end it hadn't mattered. They'd been sloppy. The same shell company which had chartered the ship they'd arrived on had rented this building. In the end there was always a paper trail and it only took the slightest bit of intelligence to begin to unravel it.

"This is blue three, targets sighted. Seven, repeat seven mongrels. Should we change to bravo?" The crystal clear voice came from the miniature speaker that had been inserted down her ear canal.

With an effort of will Weiss activated her own Dust powered microphone. "Negative. Hold your positions." Even if she and Erashan were alone in the warehouse, there had been no way to justify not involving other members of ADRG. They were in the surrounding buildings and would ensure that none of the terrorists managed to escape.

"Affirmative ma'am." Weiss thought there was just a bit more respect in his voice than there had been before.

A few more minutes passed before she heard the engine and the rattle of the chain holding the warehouse doors closed. The White Fang really shouldn't have left their hideout entirely deserted, but she guessed that they needed all of those who had been on the ship for whatever they'd been doing. That had been a mistake they would rue.

From the tone of their voices as their footsteps echoed on the metal stairs they'd had a successful day. If her guess was correct they were planning to celebrate with a few glasses of the brandy in the drawer of the desk she was sitting behind.

Weiss straightened the minute creases in her dress and put on a neutral mask. When they opened that door they would see a Schnee and they would know fear. She was not sitting in their office, they were trespassing in hers.

The reaction from the first terrorist was everything she could have hoped for. He was laughing at a joke and looking back over his shoulder as he entered. It was only after he'd made it a few steps into the room did he see who was waiting for him.

She could have been a ghost and she doubted his face would have drained of blood much quicker. The one following walked into his back but his curse died on his lips as he noticed her as well.

Weiss could almost follow their thoughts. First there was shock, then disbelief, then terror. They knew what her presence meant. Blake had once told her of returning to a hideout that had been hit by the SDC. The members of the White Fang knew they would receive no trial. Her father had outlined very clear rules of engagement. There was to be no quarter given.

They almost decided to run, before a figure so large he barely fit through the door pushed past them. Weiss smiled; he was here.

He was the other reason she had desired to oversee this mission personally. Ever since she'd been shown the surveillance images of the White Fang member from the train, the one who had been the star in so many of her nightmares, she knew it was time to put that doubt inside of her to bed.

He was one of the last links to the person she'd been before the fall of Vale, back when she hadn't been strong enough. The pair of them had unfinished business and this time things would not fall in his favour.

He looked different without his mask and it was the first time she had a good view of his eyes. They widened in surprise, but as far as she could tell there was no fear in them. His hatred didn't leave room for it. He'd said he'd always wanted to kill a Schnee, unfortunately for him this wasn't another opportunity.

With their leader standing firm the other White Fang formed a line and drew their weapons but they waited on his signal. Weiss didn't allow him to give it.

"Erashan, keep him alive. Kill the others." Was that  _her_ voice? Completely cold, purged of emotion?

She spent so long in Erashan's company and his manner was so neutral, it was easy for her to forget just how good he actually was. She knew he was better than her. Whenever they sparred he was always the one testing her limits, but she'd only ever witnessed him fight for real once before. On that last day in Vale she hadn't had time to actually watch. Now she did.

What followed was something that wouldn't fade from her memories in the slightest. As the White Fang only began to react to her words, Erashan drew both his swords from the curved sheath upon his back and leapt to meet them. There was no fight, no clash of steel on steel. Within a matter of heartbeats six men were dead upon the dusty floor.

He attacked with such an effortless efficiency of movement he made the White Fang look like puppets with knotted strings in comparison. He just seemed to flow.

His slide over the desk had brought him between two Faunus and his blades had lanced out. There should have been sound as they blocked his swords, or blood as they failed, but there was neither.

The instant before Erashan's blades had struck they'd transformed from midnight black to iridescent white. With no resistance they had carved through what meagre defences the Faunus had offered and passed wraithlike through the flesh beyond. For an instant their eyes had shone bright before all life fled.

Erashan's swords had reverted to their normal colour the moment they'd re-entered the air, but against weapons that potent, even in the hands on a novice there would have been little that the White Fang could have done.

With them in the hands of master, they stood no chance. Any defence they'd tried to raise had been sundered and even the one from the train had been powerless against him. Erashan had ducked under his attack and swept his legs from out from beneath him before delivering a blow to the temple as he fell.

The final White Fang, knowing he was going to die, had instead turned his gun on her. She'd flared her Aura in anticipation, but it had been unnecessary. She might have informed Erashan that he wasn't her bodyguard, but he obviously believed he still was and it would have been a poor bodyguard who failed his charge. His sword had moved to block the shots almost before they were fired and moments after they ricocheted the other blade had passed through his opponent's neck. Eyes burned.

Erashan had just given a very real demonstration of why white Dust was so highly sought after by those in power. If two people met and only one had white Dust, that person would win. There was simply no defence.

In the past single assassins had managed to defeat an entire household's guards before claiming their quarry. The only realistic way to combat a white Dust wielder was to have access to your own supply and hope you had more than them.

Everyone who believed they were a valid target stockpiled it for that reason. Her family included. Most in Atlas thought that the Schnee vaults were full to the brim with it, but that simply wasn't the case. It was true her father did limit the amount he sold to drive the price through the roof, but it would still have been possible to fit the amount they mined in a year on a single dropship.

It was simply too unstable. Even with the experts who were paid fortunes to extract and process it, about half ended up getting corrupted. Whereas most Dust was stored in a single protective case, white Dust had layers and layers of sterilised and inert packaging. For those who had studied Dust it was well known that it would absorb the slightest trace of energy and transform into one of the more common types.

It was a fact; one that until recently she'd believed absolute. But then she'd witnessed the impossible. Ozpin's sword was made of white Dust ̶ ̶ it had to be, the effects of it were too unique ̶ ̶ but it defied the laws that were taught all over the world. Somehow it not only remained unsullied while exposed to the air, but was capable of absorbing energy and then releasing it. It was something not one of her scientists could explain.

Erashan's blades ̶ ̶ like Myrtenaster ̶ ̶ were only capable of infusing the nano-filaments just under the surface with white Dust for a brief moment before it was corrupted and had to be jettisoned. It was why he only activated it at the last possible instant and the way she had been taught to use it too.

She'd only had to once. Looking back it had been ridiculous to use something so dangerous in what was meant to be a tournament to celebrate unity, but in the fight against the Faunus, victory had been the only thing on her mind. She'd almost killed him, only at the last second had she realised what she'd been doing and diverted her blade to pass through his hand. It might still have been too much, as far as she knew he'd never woken from his coma.

That was the power of white Dust. It was the most revered resource in the world. The White Fang had found out why here. Only their leader still lived and he hadn't even managed to get back to his feet before the last of his comrades died.

Erashan kicked the Faunus' pistol away before looking back at her. His voice was level and there was not a trace of sweat upon his brow. It would have been impossible to tell that he'd just killed six people. "What is your order?"

"Leave him. He is mine." Weiss rose from her chair. "Get up."

The Faunus laughed from his position on the floor. "You're a lot tougher with him here."

"I said get up." Weiss came to a stop half a dozen feet away and Erashan manoeuvred his way in-between them. "Erashan step back." The tone of her voice gave no room for interpretation; it was a direct command.

Weiss could see he didn't like it, but he did as instructed, though he still remained close enough to intercede. He wouldn't have to. Not anymore.

The Faunus' eyes flicked between her and Erashan as he got his arms underneath him as if he believed it was some kind of trick.

"Pick it up." Weiss nodded towards the chainsaw that was resting in the corner. It was far too large for him to carry around Atlas when he was presumably trying to be inconspicuous. He backed away from them and his arm fished out behind him before he found the hilt.

With his chainsaw he looked so much more threatening. His mere appearance out of the night would likely have sent guards running. But it stirred up no feelings of vulnerability in her.

"What is your name?" Weiss asked.

She could see him debating giving it, but even the scum in the White Fang couldn't rise to leadership without being intelligent. He knew he wouldn't be leaving the room alive. The most he would be able to achieve would be to kill the Schnee heir, and perhaps he wanted his name to be associated with that act.

"I suppose there is no harm in telling you. Not when my entire family died in your mines. My name is Jet Frieman." He readied himself.

Weiss brought Myrtenaster across her body and once again her voice became completely cold. "My father may be responsible for that, but you are responsible for the death of a six year old girl who deserved so much more."

He perhaps didn't understand the accusation, but before she finished speaking he leapt to the attack. His body blurred as he activated his Semblance and he crossed the ground between them in a heartbeat. The chainsaw growled.

A glyph formed on the floor and for the first time in her life Weiss realised her heritage. The Atlesian Royal line alone had the ability to Summon familiars and she was among the last of that bloodline.

Or at least that was what her birth certificate said. Her father had always held a different opinion. He looked at her and couldn't comprehend how she had such noble blood running through her veins? How could such a failure be the descendent of a dynasty that had subjugated an entire continent? And he'd not held back from telling her so.

It was just another facet of the abuse she'd suffered as a child. Just another way he had tormented her. Under his castigating gaze any attempt she'd made to Summon her birthright would always splutter out of existence even before it had formed.

And once again his opinion of his  _heir_  would be validated. Since those early attempts she'd avoided trying again. Her failure had been too painful, and somewhere inside of her she'd believed him. If she was a true Schnee it should have come easily to her, so what was she?

Now she knew better. The baptism of fire that had been Vale had stripped those notions from her. She was the Schnee heir. It only took a walk across the atrium of the Eiszapfen to prove it. Her word had shut down the world's largest city, deployed troops onto the streets, and eventually ended the unrest. It was she who was actually fighting back against the White Fang.

No matter what her father said, she was a Schnee, and Schnees could Summon. She hadn't even practiced; there was no need when for perhaps the first time in her life she believed in herself.

A glowing silhouette rose from the glyph. A shape that towered over everyone in the room; even the giant Faunus. He skidded to a halt as the Ursa Major roared, shaking the windows in their frames and dust fell as its armoured spines gouged into the ceiling.

In normal circumstances a skilled White Fang operative should have at least been able to hold off an Ursa, but these weren't normal circumstances. No one could have expected a creature of Grimm to just materialise in front of them, and no one would have wanted to fight such a creature in an enclosed space.

The Ursa rushed forward ignoring the bite of chainsaw and its considerable bulk smashed into the Faunus. It was as if he'd been hit by a speeding car. He went down, and with her instruction the Ursa sat on him.

That was the hardest part. Controlling it, resisting its primal urge to bite, to rend. Its ghost was vicious and it fought her, but her will was stronger. Much stronger. It had no choice but to obey. The actual act of Summoning was easy, so easy she couldn't believe she was unable to do it before.

As a child reading one of the memoirs of Arthur Pendragon, she'd read the section on Summoning extensively, sure that her father was leaving out something vital. He hadn't been. He told her the method and made sure she had her first kill.

It was meant to be a  _foe_  maybe that was why it hadn't worked. Snowpea hadn't been her enemy. She really should have known it was too good to be true when she found a tiny kitten in her room, coloured just like his name. She should have realised it wasn't a present, but she'd been too overjoyed.

She'd even thanked her father, curtsying prettily before rushing back to the mewling ball of fluff. He'd been her best friend for weeks and that was when Arian had told her what Summoning entailed. It had been sadism of the highest order.

He could have given her a caged Beowolf as he presented Winter, but that wouldn't have satisfied him. As always, everything had to be orders of magnitude harder for her. Even then he considered her far too soft, and he'd sought to kill two birds with one stone.

Of course she'd refused, but locked in what amounted to little more than a dungeon for days. Snowpea and a knife her only companions, as her body cried out for food and water, as the darkness smothered her, fearing that she would actually die down there, eventually she'd lost her will.

It was a mercy she couldn't remember it. The lack of nutrition had driven her into an almost comatose state. When she'd woken up in her bed all she knew was that there was no one sleeping on her pillow. And it had all been for nothing, she hadn't been able to Summon anyway.

Now she could and her realised abilities had turned what once would have been a difficult fight into nothing more than a triviality. Even Erashan gave her an impressed nod as he took in the beast that was almost smothering the Faunus.

In the end it had been so simple. He wasn't a match for her. He should never have been. On the train she'd held back. She'd had unrealistic ideals of how a hunter should fight. They should meet their enemies blade to blade and the one whose cause was just would walk away.

She'd been so wrong. The fall of Vale had made her examine such petty notions as honour. Honour was a concept that only existed in fairy tales. It had no place in the real world. There was only strength and a willingness to do what must be done.

Weiss rested a hand on the white-blue head of her Ursa. It nearly felt real but not quite. There was the roughness of the matted fur, the smoothness of the armoured plates, but it was almost as cold as the grave. Not that the cold bothered her anyway.

It obviously affected the Faunus. She could see him straining, see his veins bulging, but even his great strength was useless. Weiss crouched down until she could see where he had turned his head to suck in breaths. He might have been beaten, but there was still hate in his eyes and Weiss met them.

"I do not duel vermin." Judging by the increase in his efforts to escape he'd heard the insult, but that's what he was. And the only thing that should be done with vermin was to exterminate them as quickly and efficiently as possible.

She turned to Erashan who had sheathed his swords and was now watching her neutrally. He understood that as well. When he fought there was no showboating, no extending the fight, he killed ruthlessly and with unmatched efficiency. It was just a shame she had taken so long to learn that lesson. Perhaps if she had earlier Vale would still be a thriving city.

"Find out what he knows."

"Yes Ms Schnee." As Weiss sheathed Myrtenaster he spoke into his microphone. "Secure the perimeter. We have a guest."

* * *

 

Weiss tried not to study her surroundings too intently as Erashan drove her to one of ADRG's safehouses. She roughly knew where she was, but Atlas was so extensive it was impossible to remember if she'd ever been to this particular area before.

It was close to noon the day after she'd led the raid on the White Fang hideout, and it was the first opportunity she'd had to get away from the office. Bureaucracy waits for nothing, not even possible terrorist attacks, and she'd spent the rest of the day and this morning in meetings.

It didn't really matter anyway. Erashan had told her they hadn't been ready to begin the questioning. Not that he wanted her there in the first place. Again he was trying to shield her from reality.

She wasn't a child. She was well aware of just what form the questioning would take. Of just what consequences her order would have. His protective attitude was beginning to try her patience. Once again she'd had to explicitly order him to make sure she was present.

Their SUV crunched through the freshly settling snow at a crawl, Erashan not willing to take any risks with the reduced visibility. Despite the numerous gritting trucks and snow ploughs that kept the veins of Atlas pumping, smaller roads like this one could often become treacherous.

"I understand from Lobelia that Ruby has been attending balls."

The statement caused her to look up from her scroll. Though Erashan rarely seemed to keep up to date with the gossip that governed most of the nobles' lives, his wife knew how to play the game more than adequately for the both of them.

It was why she'd asked Lobelia to keep an eye on Ruby. Despite Ruby's assurances that everything would be fine Weiss couldn't help worrying about her. Ruby still didn't seem to understand just how much viciousness was hidden behind the pageantry.

"Yes she has."

"Might I be so bold as to ask the reason why?"

Weiss debated telling him. On the one hand she was entirely certain that anything she said would remain confidential, but on the other his normal approach to dealing with a threat was to eliminate it.

She only had to look over the reports of the operations he'd organised against the White Fang to see one overarching theme. They were as aggressive as possible. ADRG struck fast and they struck hard. Only when there were additional objectives, as there had been on their retaliation for the bombing of Tintagel Castle, did they not disappear hours before any other forces arrived.

If she told Erashan he would want to attempt to stop it. No matter that a conspiracy against them might not exist. But then she supposed he was in danger too.

"Winter believes that some houses might be planning to take advantage of the current climate to make moves against us. She managed to persuade Ruby to assist her in uncovering them." Weiss was unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She would have much preferred if Ruby didn't insist on putting herself in harm's way.

"And why, as your director of security, am I only being informed about this now?" There was a bite in his tone that she'd only heard on rare occasions.

"Because we are not certain that such a threat even exists. If it does at this moment, it is not one which could be countered by force. If you started attending the balls as well, it would blow what little cover Ruby has."

He was silent for a few moments. "I should still have been told. Not only are you and Winter possibly in danger, but so is Lobelia. I suppose you didn't tell her the reason for Ruby attending either."

"No, but she knows how to read the undercurrents. She will be working things on her end." It was obvious to Weiss what he was feeling because it was exactly the same as she felt whenever she had to wave Ruby off to one of those balls. In their own way, both of them wielded power and neither of them was used to being helpless. She spoke more softly. "I know you don't like it, but at this point in time you would only be a hindrance. You can warn Lobelia if you wish, but I can guarantee she's already aware and didn't want to worry you."

By the ways his knuckles tightened on the steering wheel she could see that her words had struck the very heart of the matter. Erashan didn't speak for some time but when he did it was with weary resolution. "You are probably correct. But don't cut me out of the loop again. If you find anything tell me." He turned off the road and pulled up next to a large building. "We're here."

It appeared to be a warehouse, much like the one the White Fang had been using as a hideout. Weiss made to exit the car but Erashan stopped her.

"Before we go in we need to discuss a few things. You know my opinion on you being here so I won't repeat it, but as you are here it will be your prerogative to suspend this operation. But the moment you give that command he will not reveal anything else. Everything you will witness has been carefully calculated to give the best chance of breaking him. He will latch on to even the slightest hint of hesitancy or mercy."

_Mercy_. Erashan needn't have worried. Mercy had to be earned and the White Fang deserved none.

"And secondly, please remember that none of us enjoy this. It's not pleasant, but it's something that someone needs to do."

Weiss got the sense that though he said  _us_  he was more talking about himself. He obviously believed the sights in that warehouse would make her think less of him.

"I am well aware of the ramifications behind my order. Let's go."

They left the car and Erashan pushed on a frost-covered latch. The moment the door opened the thumping and screaming of people who wrongly called themselves musicians became audible. Just inside Erashan exchanged nods with two members of ADRG who were on guard duty. They didn't salute him but then the operatives of ADRG weren't normal soldiers. They were all hunters or former special forces at the least and at the moment they were on active combat duty.

But Weiss did notice that when she came into sight they stood straighter and the nods she received were deeper than they had been before. Respect from people like them had to be earned and her recent actions had perhaps begun to persuade them she wasn't just a spoiled socialite.

"How's our guest been?" Erashan asked.

"Hanging around," the two guards grinned.

"Right keep an eye out. We should be safe but you never know."

"Sir."

Erashan moved past them and through another set of doors. This time heavy metal pounded against Weiss' eardrums and bright lights rapidly pulsed against her retinas. A part of her noted sensory deprivation.

They were in the warehouse proper and the air in the large room had a real bite to it. It was cold enough that someone not raised in Atlas would have said it was unbearable. But it was just another aspect of making their  _guest_  uncomfortable.

He was suspended by his wrists in the middle of the room, the speakers and the lamps situated in a half circle around him. Erashan made a gesture and the music stopped and the lights remained on. It was only then that Weiss realised that the Faunus had not been allowed to maintain his dignity.

She couldn't help herself and her eyes were drawn to the area below his waistline. It was the first time she'd ever seen a man naked in the flesh. She knew what to expect of course, even if she'd never felt the need to watch the repulsive videos some people did.

People like Yang.

Her knowledge of the male anatomy mostly came from two sources, biology textbooks and her blonde teammate. Not only had Yang been fond of certain magazines that were better left undiscussed, and which just so happened to keep being left open in places that Weiss would come across them, but she had been fond of creating incredibly detailed illustrations as well.

More than once Weiss had turned to the next page of her notebook in class only to discover a penis emblazoned on the page and had had to slam the book shut while her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Only too aware that if she looked around she would find Yang, and more likely than not the rest of her friends, trying not to laugh. Even Ruby had conspired against her.

She didn't know if it was tied with her sexuality, but she'd never seen the attraction. To her they were just ugly. She supposed that when Ruby was finally ready to take their relationship to the next level they might end up using toys that were modelled in their image, but she'd never had any desire to buy any for herself.

Seeing one for real didn't change her opinion. It was just a tube of flaccid flesh and when compared to his large frame it was smaller than she'd thought it would be. She didn't get why people like Yang were fascinated with them and unless her preferences changed dramatically she likely never would.

With a second glance Weiss noticed he wasn't entirely naked. A studded collar, one that she would have been able to purchase in any pet store, had been wrapped around his neck. It even had a metal bone hanging from it. It was certainly racist, but it was also demeaning.

It wasn't quite a regular collar though, a wire was clipped to it and another was wrapped around his ankle. Weiss followed them to the same box that was powering the lights.

Erashan obviously saw her looking. "The constant current stops his Aura regenerating. We still aren't entirely sure what his Semblance is." Weiss nodded. Like everything else so far, it made coldly logical sense. "Wait here."

Weiss stopped, but Erashan continued to walk, followed by the two burly soldiers who had peeled away from the shadows as they entered. The Faunus raised his head groggily as Erashan came to halt in front of him. Between the music, the lights, and the electricity Weiss doubted he had managed to get the slightest wink of sleep last night. Erashan spoke in an almost conversational tone.

"Right now all this is about you simply coming to terms with the situation. I own you. You belong to me. If you don't look at me when I talk to you, I hurt you. If you fight me, I hurt you. If you disobey me, I hurt you. If you lie to me, I hurt you. If you hesitate when I ask you a question, I hurt you. Understand?"

The Faunus ignored him looking over his shoulder and straight at Weiss. She fixed a mask on her face and met his eyes impassively. If she hadn't seen so much, the depth of the hatred in the Faunus' eyes would have shocked her. As it was, with everything she'd done, she was able to return it in kind.

Erashan sighed. "Jet. I respect that, I really do." He took off his suit jacket and carefully folded it before laying it on top of one of the speakers. "In your situation it's almost admirable that you have such conviction." His silver cufflinks joined his jacket and he began to roll up his sleeves. "Not many would be that brave. But you just broke one of my rules." Erashan made a gesture to the two soldiers. "Let's go."

His two assistants rushed forward, with practiced efficiency they unhooked the cuffs and cables before they swept Jet's legs from beneath him. He tried to struggle, but his night of discomfort had left him weak, and the burly soldiers marshalled him easily.

When they'd got him on his back, they put their weight on his shoulders, pinning his torso to the floor. Compared to the violence of his assistants Erashan's movements were leisurely. He strolled over to the side of the room and filled a jug with water from a cooler. As one of soldiers pulled a thick cloth from their pocket and roughly held it down until it covered the Faunus' mouth and nose Weiss managed to put two and two together.

Erashan knelt down and met the eyes that were beginning to show the first traces of anxiousness with his own arctic grey ones. "Jet I need you to understand, this is your fault. You are responsible for everything that happens here."

With that he sloshed the first of the ice cold water in the jug onto the cloth. Its effect was immediate. Jet thrashed. He couldn't move much, not with how he was held, but by the ferocity of his struggles it was clear that his panic had eclipsed all reason.

Jet believed he was drowning. It was a primal fear and his body acted accordingly. As he gagged and phlegm was forced up his oesophagus some slipped into his lungs. That only caused him to cough which in turn put him more at risk of inhaling fluid. It was a vicious cycle.

And one which he was given no reprieve from. From her position a dozen feet away Weiss watched as the Faunus spluttered and spasmed. She watched his thrashing and his limbs kicking out weakly as he tried to escape from the situation. To escape from one the few people in the world that she looked up to.

It was almost as much a relief to her as it was to the Faunus when Erashan finally stopped. The neutrality on his face was probably the worst part. Most who encountered the steely visage he normally wore thought he was emotionless, just an unthinking bodyguard, but that wasn't true.

He perhaps wasn't as expressive as others, but Weiss knew how to read him. Instead of a smile there might just be an upturn of his mouth, the beginning of a line at the corner of his eyes. When he disagreed with a decision his jaw jutted just a little bit more than usual. When he was with his wife there was a sliver of a sparkle in his eyes. They were all small tells, but they were there.

Now there weren't. Weiss couldn't detect anything of what he was thinking. He may as well have been wearing the full faced helm the regular members of ADRG wore on combat missions for all she could discern.

Just like hers was at this moment, his face was a mask that didn't reveal anything. And she was the one who had made him put it on. It was her orders that he was carrying out. It was by her command that the scene before her was taking place. It wasn't pleasant, but it was necessary. The White Fang had started this war, but she would not allow them to be the ones to finish it.

Could not allow it. Every good person, every innocent person in the world was relying on her to stop the pandemic that threatened them all. She'd been doing it, but it was one thing to read reports and another to see what must be done in person.

Her resolve wavered, but it didn't break. She remained standing and when Erashan looked up at her she nodded. The White Fang had made their beds; everything she'd done to them was fully deserved. More water flowed.

Sometimes the orders might weigh heavily on her and people like Erashan who had to carry them out but in the end he understood as well that their wants were not the important ones. Not when compared against the people had who had died and those who would die if they didn't stop them.

Some might decry their actions as inhumane, but they didn't understand. They were naïve, they didn't realise that wars couldn't be won nobly; they couldn't be won with honour. To win, you had to be willing to descend to your enemy's level. And anyway at the end of the day, the White Fang weren't human.

Weiss knew that Ruby wouldn't understand. She was too full of the belief that there was good in the world. Even after Vale she hadn't hated anyone apart from herself. It was why, even in her hardest moments, Weiss had resisted getting support from Ruby. Even if the knowledge of what she actually did everyday didn't destroy their relationship, it would drive a wedge between them. Even now she doubted that Ruby realised just what she was working towards.

In the morning after the last ball when they'd woken entwined in a warm bed with snow banked up on the windowsill, she'd decided spontaneously that perhaps work could wait for a few hours. In the time they'd spent softly talking across their pillows she'd sensed that Ruby was becoming enchanted with the atmosphere.

There were still parts she disliked, but the magic of the dancing or the dresses hadn't worn off. Weiss tried to be happy for her. After all, if Ruby stubbornly insisted on attending she may as well enjoy herself. But it was clear that while Ruby reported her conversations and almost excitedly pointed out any leads she might have found, she didn't know what ramifications her words might have.

If her leads were solid and allowed Winter to unearth something of import, she would not hesitate raising the matter to their father. And if that happened the consequences of any plots would be severe. To most, even to nobles, assassination wasn't an option. There was simply too much to lose if they were caught.

For her father that wasn't an issue. His rise to power had been built upon the destruction of a house. People who crossed him disappeared, and now she was in command of ADRG. It would be her who orchestrated it. Ruby might very well mention a name that a few hours later would end up on her desk.

If she told Ruby the truth, she wouldn't believe her anyway. She wouldn't be able to believe that her girlfriend was responsible for the majority of the retaliatory strikes against the White Fang. Just as much as she wouldn't be able to believe that Weiss was capable of standing where she was.

Watching a Faunus cough water out of his lungs for the dozenth time and not feeling the slightest trace of pity. This time Erashan didn't start pouring again when the coughing stopped but instead grasped the Faunus' head and brought their eyes into contact.

"Why were you in Atlas?" The shouted question made Weiss jump.

Erashan and the soldiers gave the Faunus a heartbeat to answer before the cloth went back over his mouth.

"That was a hesitation."

The water began flowing.

"Who were you here to meet? I want their names Jet." More retching. Weiss doubted the Faunus' mind was in any position to comprehend what Erashan was asking him. "Give me the names of your contacts. Give me one name and I will stop this."

The Faunus began to cough, but unlike before they were deeper and didn't stop. Erashan ripped the cloth away and the soldiers turned their victim onto his side. Spurts of water sprayed across the hard concrete floor.

"Get him up," Erashan instructed and his soldiers hauled the still coughing Faunus to his feet. He could barely support his own weight. "You might think you're tough. You might think you'll be able to hold out long enough. But I need you to think about how you feel now. We've only just begun. So why don't you just save yourself the pain? Give me just one name, and I'll make it stop."

Hanging back from his chains Jet managed to get a few words out in between haggard breaths. "I'd rather die."

When Erashan spoke he sounded almost like a therapist. "You might think that now, but in a few hours, you might have a different perspective. We're good at this. You know that. How do you think we've managed to find so many of your hideouts? We won't allow you to die. We don't make mistakes. You will be here for as long as it takes. Think on that. In the end everybody breaks. It's biology."

His assistants had finished reattaching the wires and Erashan turned away as Jet began to shake. The signal generator whined as the current ramped up and poured through the Faunus' body. Not satisfied with that, the other soldier began to smear powered yellow Dust over him. The proximity of its base element caused its unstable structure to collapse and small motes of lightning seared his skin. It was a devious use of an element Jet had likely spent a significant portion of his life mining and it only compounded his pain.

As she stood there staring at the person being interrogated on her orders, Weiss knew she should be repulsed but instead a fitting saying came to her mind.

The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them, and she was their instrument.

* * *

 

Weiss pulled up outside the warehouse and switched off the engine. Most wouldn't think it by how often she travelled with a chauffeur, but she enjoyed driving. With so many things requiring her attention the day didn't have enough hours in it as it was, let alone if she used her journeys as a time to take a break.

To her driving represented freedom. With a wheel in her hands she'd no longer been confined to her family's estate. When things had got a little too tough the country roads had provided a welcome reprieve from the torment.

Of course driving in Atlas was rarely simple. The minor roads were often close to impassable without an SUV and a clear day could quickly turn into a blizzard or worse, but in the short summer months, with the sun shining down it was possible to drop the roof on a convertible and just enjoy the fresh air.

Willow Schnee had enjoyed doing just that. One of Weiss' few memories of her mother was of being sat in the rear of a car with Winter beside her, both trying to catch the ethereal hair flowing from the driver's seat as it whipped back and forth in the wind.

The weather today wasn't suitable for a convertible, but in the future Weiss hoped to take Ruby out in one of her classic cars. She'd driven to the warehouse in one of the fleet of luxury vehicles that were stored below the Eiszapfen. The security detail had been reluctant to let her leave without an escort, but they didn't have knowledge of the truth behind ADRG.

It would have been far more suspicious to have a driver take her to a random warehouse and wait outside, than it was for her to drive herself to her next meeting. Starling had already had to cancel the one Weiss was meant to be at now, but Erashan's succinct message simply couldn't wait.

It had been almost seventy two hours since the start of the questioning. In all honesty she had no idea as to whether that time period was short or not, but the Faunus was now apparently being cooperative.

The intermediate hours had certainly dragged on for her. When every falling grain of sand was another moment that the White Fang had to threaten her city she'd been unable to fully focus. Her father had been so disgusted by her failure at Tintagel Castle he'd almost withdrawn her command, but he'd given her another chance, which was rare enough for him, and she wasn't going to blow it again.

The door was waiting for her open and she nodded to the soldiers waiting just inside. "Where's Erashan?"

"Just through there ma'am," one said pointing to the main room.

There had been several changes since her last visit. For one there was no music pounding against her ears. The speakers had been moved near the wall along with the lights and the air was mild instead of frigid.

The Faunus still remained where he had been but he was no longer hanging restrained instead he was kneeling on the concrete. It wasn't a surprise to her; there was only one way he would have been willing to communicate.

His posture was slumped, and his broad shoulders rounded. With time critical her instructions had been to get him to talk. That had been it; she hadn't had to say more. They all knew the possible cost if the White Fang managed to carry out their plan.

Perhaps in other circumstances they would have continued with some of the less severe interrogation methods she'd witnessed here, but they were only effective through continued repetition. A stronger mind might rationalise that while the situation it was undergoing was horrific, at the end of the day it was transient and would soon pass.

If that notion had given the Faunus strength in the intervening days it had been roughly disabused. Both of his hands were heavily bandaged, the spots of blood giving an indication as to why they appeared reduced in size. The skin of his arms was covered in burns and an eye patch perhaps indicated the point where his will had finally given way.

Since he'd started cooperating his level of comfort had improved. He didn't rate a chair, but he at least been rewarded with some clothes. The acts of brutality or mercy failed to touch Weiss at all. She'd long since exhausted any empathy she harboured for members of the White Fang. It had been steadily eroded since the bath of warm carmine in a hot pink room.

A camera on a tripod had been set up and Erashan was sat just behind it asking questions. One of the soldiers handed her a tablet when she arrived next to them and she browsed the transcript of topics that had already been discussed. There was one in particular that she wanted to hear for herself.

If she wanted confirmation that the fight had been completely stripped from the Faunus it was when he became aware of her. In a member of the White Fang the presence of a Schnee should have induced loathing. Now there was only trepidation.

"You were here to kill Ozpin?" Weiss asked.

The Faunus nodded but then flinched away as one of the soldiers took a step forward. Vocalising answers was obviously another rule he'd just broken. "Yes," he choked out hurriedly and the soldier stopped.

"Why?" It didn't make sense. The White Fang vendetta was with the SDC. Had always been with the SDC. Their target should have been her, or her father, or Winter, and yet it wasn't. Ozpin may have been elevated to a position of command within the Atlesian military, but assassinating him wouldn't stop what had been set into motion. After the bombing of Tintagel Castle, Atlas was going to war no matter who was at the helm.

" _She_ ordered it."

"Who's…" Weiss trailed off thinking back to her last hour in Vale. "You mean the pyromancer?"

The Faunus obviously recognised the title. "Yes."

"Who is she?" In their brief meetings when she'd raised the question Ozpin had been tight-lipped when she'd asked him that question.

"Just that she's called Cinder. I don't know anything else." The soldier moved again. "I don't! No one does. Except maybe Adam. She just turned up one day with a dozen mechs and her own crew. And she expected us to obey. She killed anyone who didn't. That's all I know, she only ever talked to Adam."

"Why does she want Ozpin dead?"

"She hates him."

"Why?"

"I don't know. She just told us when we were leaving."

"How were you planning to do it? Ozpin's well out of your league."

"I've already told him." The Faunus transferred his gaze fearfully to Erashan. "There's a rifle."

Weiss raised a questioning eyebrow at her old tutor. "Apparently this  _Cinder_ has managed to acquire an anti-material rifle of some description. Judging by the rest of her appropriations we can hazard a guess it's at least military grade."

That was a concern. Rifles like Crescent Rose were incredibly dangerous but they still had to be mobile. There were some weapons that were only designed to be fired from vehicles or stationary positions. Such a weapon could rip through the engine block of a car or the armoured plates of a Grimm as easily as paper, or it could kill even a hunter with a single shot.

The risk they posed to those in power was severe and they were one of the few types of weapons that were illegal for even hunters to possess. If the White Fang had somehow managed to steal one from a secure site or even constructed their own, all of their enemies were in danger.

"Find it," Weiss instructed.

"He's given us the location of the pickup. I've already dispatched a team. I've also set raids in motion against the rest of the White Fang safe houses we now know about. They should be ready to move on your say so."

Weiss nodded. That was one of the major reasons Erashan was such an effective left hand. He wasn't afraid to make his own decisions and seek her approval later. She and Erashan walked out of earshot. "Take them out, but attempt to capture the leaders. Let's see if there are any more vermin on our soil."

"I'll inform the teams."

"Finish up here and when you're done, dispose of him quietly. We don't want any publicity." Weiss' voice had fallen back in the arctic regions of temperature.

Erashan nodded with just the trace of something behind his eyes.

Weiss turned away from him and dialled the number which had once caused her heart to stop beating whenever it had appeared on screen.

"Yes."

"Father, we need to meet. Our guest has been cooperative, and his friends should be joining him soon."

"Good. Be here at three." Weiss expected him to hang up. Conversations with her father were seldom long but then he spoke again. "Oh and Weiss, good work. For perhaps the first time in your life, you have begun to live up to your name. I'm proud of you."

Weiss' throat seized up. Those four words. So simple and yet ones she had longed to hear throughout her life. She might have not considered herself a child any longer, but somewhere within her she'd desperately desired one of the things that had been denied to her for so long.

Her father's approval.

And she finally had it. But deep down inside of her, in a place that had been long forgotten, a small voice lamented that to gain it she'd sacrificed her humanity.

 

 


	22. Chapter 22

It was a relief to get out of the apartment. Even if going out alone normally filled her with dread, the nerves were better than the tension. Velvet shook her head sadly. Seeing two friends fall out was something she'd always hated. She had few friends and always treasured them; she couldn't imagine life without them.

Surely Yang and Blake felt the same, but there was also an ever growing chasm between them. Neither had spoken about just what was creating it, but it was plain to her that it was hurting them both. It was hurting all of them.

SSSN might be able to escape at night, but she and Coco couldn't. Their apartment had become a battleground. It was not one of physical conflict, but of pointed exchanges and ever so heavy silences.

Velvet hated it. Her life had been spent avoiding any situation that might force herself to confront someone. Even as a huntress she hadn't risen to the baiting ̶ ̶ or more ̶ ̶ that was often sent her way because of her heritage. It just wasn't who she was.

That person was painfully shy and completely lacking in self-confidence. That she recognised it about herself didn't help. Most would have said she simply had to get over it. Force herself to talk to people, to defend herself if provoked.

But they didn't understand the crippling fear that arose whenever she was alone with someone she didn't know. Sometimes she tried, she really did. She'd rack her mind for something to say, work up the courage to approach them, only for the words to die in her throat.

Then she'd splutter and they'd look at her like she was freak who couldn't even talk to someone. She'd back away, her face red with embarrassment, and hating herself for not being normal. And the next time that memory would rise with countless others, reminding her what a bad idea even trying was.

She had chronic nerves and even the medication she'd been prescribed at Signal hadn't helped in the slightest. It had lessened her apprehension to an extent that she didn't have trouble breathing sure, but she'd gone through the days like a zombie, not feeling a thing. Even the sight of her family had failed to lift her. It just wasn't worth the cost.

So instead she'd learned to live with her nerves as best as she was able. Every morning when she looked at her reflection in the mirror she'd make a promise to herself. A promise that this day she'd do something that made her uncomfortable, something that she wouldn't normally do. It could have been as simple as saying hello to a stranger in the street or raising her hand in class. That was it. She didn't always manage to keep her promise but when she did it left her feeling over the moon.

It might not have seemed like much, but it was a start. Hopefully one day she would be as brash as Coco. Maybe not quite that brash. A smile rose unbidden onto her lips. As always, thoughts of her best friend and more lifted her mood.

Coco was at the entirely opposite end of the spectrum when it came to self-confidence. Velvet doubted that there was anything that really fazed her. More often than not Coco had pulled her into situations that she found utterly uncomfortable.

It should have been enough to make her loathe her. She very nearly did the time Coco pulled her up on stage at a club, or the times when she volunteered their team for a demonstration. As the weight of a hundred stares pressed down on her she always wanted to run; that was often the moment that Coco's hand found hers. Shackled to her fate, she'd be forced to endure. Though she might be calling Coco every name under the sun in head, afterwards, when the stares diminished, she'd be ever so grateful.

Coco knew about her problems, and she risked their relationship, risked her hate, to try and help her. In many ways Coco was just perfect for her. Not only to her friends was she selfless and kind, but she basked in the centre of attention. She was made for it. There were few people in the world who seemed to draw gazes more and while they were on Coco, they weren't on her. She was just the girl in the background, there, but also not there, and that was the way she liked it.

Coco was also a great team leader. If any problems arose on their team she'd always had a solution. But even as great a team leader as she was, she seemed stumped when it came to solving the issues between Yang and Blake. Everything she tried seemed to get them nowhere. Both of them were just too stubborn and refusing to budge even an inch.

It took all of Coco's leadership abilities to even get them to sit-down at a table together. As they continued refusing to talk it tested Coco's patience. Most of the time she might have been easy-going and relaxed, but in situations like that she could become more ill-tempered. It was just before those moments that Velvet had interceded. It wouldn't benefit them in any way for Yang and Blake to find grievances with Coco as well.

Yang had anyway. Coco had been livid when she'd discovered that Yang had walked away from their search of the offices without a word. To her, that was just about the biggest insult Yang could have given. She'd put them all in danger and hadn't seemed contrite about it in the slightest.

That was a conflict that Velvet had nipped in the bud before any major trouble arose. It was bad enough with Yang and Blake arguing; to introduce Coco into that mix would have been disastrous. Velvet just wished they could get back to how it had been.

This whole mission was hard enough without all this added to it. Ever since that first briefing she'd been terrified of setting foot back in the city and her worries had been vindicated. It was impossible to know what she would have done without Coco by her side.

Being a noble she could have kicked up a larger fuss about being conscripted, maybe even got herself out of the army altogether. In fact that was what Velvet had wanted her to do, but she hadn't.

She wouldn't. Not unless she could do the same for the rest of her friends. It just wasn't in her nature to be selfish. Her parents hadn't been happy of course. No parents wanted to see their child go into danger, but just like always they had caved for their only daughter.

After having two sons it was clear to see how much they'd wanted a daughter and they'd spoiled her rotten. With older siblings Coco was a long way removed from any real slice of inheritance. She hadn't had to train to run their family enterprise and instead she was allowed to do whatever she'd wanted.

There weren't many people who could say that they were equally as comfortable in a design studio as a Grimm infested forest, but Coco was one of them. Her parents even hadn't complained when she'd brought home a girl ̶ ̶ and a Faunus one to boot ̶ ̶ to show off.

Many of the Atlesian nobles would have found the latter too hard to stomach even if the former was more accepted. But not Lord and Lady Adel. Not when it was Coco. After an initial period of difficulty they'd eventually warmed to the idea and welcomed her into their home.

Coco loaned Velvet so much strength it was hard for her to see just what she was getting out the relationship in return. But whatever it was, Velvet was glad that Coco was getting her reward because she needed that strength more than ever.

Being back in her home city was challenging. Despite the bad scenarios that often arose as being part of an oppressed race, despite the fact her family had been dirt poor, it was her home. She'd loved it here. It hadn't cost much money to have a simple picnic on the shingle beach, to spend the day playing with her siblings in the parks. There were so many special memories that had been created here. Golden memories.

Memories that had now been tainted. The White Fang had seen to that. The parks and seafronts of Vale had been carpeted with bodies. Her disposition didn't normally allow her to show many strong emotions, but she hated the White Fang. She always had.

She'd told Blake that when she'd opened up all that time ago. Too many times to count it had been her on the receiving end of the upsurge of racism that followed an attack too many times to count. They must have known what happened to those they left in their wake too, but it hadn't stopped them.

And now they'd done something that made all their other crimes pale in comparison. The response would be equal to it. She'd already seen it in Atlas with the riots that had followed the bombing of Tintagel castle. Dozens of innocent Faunus had been murdered just for how they were born. It sickened her, but that was just how the world was.

All the Faunus who had believed the empty promises would learn that lesson for themselves. It was just unfair. She looked around and saw happy people, thriving people, but it wouldn't be allowed to last.

Well some were happy, others not so much. It would have been naïve to believe that people wouldn't want to repay the way they'd been treated in kind, but she still couldn't believe it. They knew how painful it was to have someone cut in front of them in line at a shop and not be able to say anything. To have someone walk into her by  _accident._  She only wanted that pain to disappear from the world; they wanted to see it returned in kind.

It was those racists, and that was what they ultimately were, who would be the figureheads of the Faunus-run city. It would be those incidents that were shown on the news stations around the world and not those of the people who had managed to do the things they had been told the Faunus would never be capable of doing.

It was such a juxtaposition. At the moment most of the Faunus in the city were the happiest they had ever been. They had such hopes for their futures. And in a short while they would be subjected to a level of despair they thought impossible.

She was sure the guilt was just as rampant in Blake as it was her; perhaps that was the source of some of her strife with Yang. Velvet wasn't working for the return of the old status quo, not if she had her way, but she couldn't allow the White Fang to succeed. Not with the precedent that it would set.

Not when it would allow anybody with a grievance to maim and murder their way across the world, bringing suffering to countless people, only for their actions to be vindicated. That would be the end of society as they knew it.

The other thing that troubled her was that they were no better. Those who were meant to be the champions of justice were skulking around in the dark, consorting with criminals, and acting just like those they were meant to overthrow.

In the days since the office search the resistance had been active. The apparent initial slew of covert operations had been replaced with extremely visible ones. Ones the White Fang were unable to suppress.

People were starting to talk, and they were starting to get scared. As of yet they hadn't replicated the White Fang's tactics in their entirety. There hadn't been wholesale attacks against civilians, but people were anxious as to just what the upsurge in violence indicated.

Barely a day went by without a White Fang officer being murdered, a building burning down, a generator going off-line. In the city and all the islands beyond it the resistance was beginning to assert itself and the only option the White Fang had was to push back in the only way they knew how.

There were raids of suspected buildings. People brought in for questioning. Entirely  _random_  spot checks of humans on the streets. And when they did uncover a  _cell_ , real or not,  _justice_  was doled out very much in the public eye. They hadn't quite moved to televised executions yet, but if things kept spiralling they likely weren't far away.

The entirely random checks of people who always happened to be human was the reason Velvet was alone today; it was becoming unsafe for either Coco or Yang to move through the city. It wasn't entirely safe for her either. Every time she spotted a patrol her usual nerves skyrocketed.

In reality her background should have been secure. She had a forged identity and she'd lived in Vale all her life. Any corroborating questions they asked should have been easy to answer, but when her throat often closed up when called upon by a teacher she didn't know if her body would let her.

It didn't help that her nerves only made her more likely to be one of the few Faunus to be selected. When a patrol looked over a crowd she was sure her shaking made her as visible as a flare. There just wasn't anything she could do to stop it either. None of the few tricks she'd developed helped in the slightest, not that they normally did anyway. The thought of letting her friends down was enough to almost make her ask Torchwick to get her some anti-anxiety drugs.

Almost, but not quite. She wasn't ready to be reduced to that state. They might have cured her of her anxiety, but they also robbed her of her mind. Right now she needed it. There was too much to do.

Apart from the horrors of the office, which she prayed had been all Neo, but with Blake's blood covered attire she knew it hadn't been, Torchwick had kept his promise to keep them away from the messier side of resistance. They'd been tasked with vandalism instead of murder.

Still a crime for sure, and one Velvet never would have dreamed of committing normally, but not quite on the same scale. They ensured that their targets were empty of people when they struck. Their actions were depriving the White Fang of the backbone they needed to remain in power and as always the heavy lifting seemed to fall on her shoulders.

It made sense. As long as she had an ample supply of Dust her abilities were suited to it, but it still meant that she was taking the majority of the risks. Spending more time on the streets navigating White Fang patrols just as she was doing now.

Her blood pounded in her ears as she tried to maintain a normal step as she walked past one, but her body seemed to have forgotten just what a normal step was. She thought it must have looked like she had a disability, although her mind always conjured an image so much worse than reality.

The White Fang's attention only lingered on her for a few moments before it moved on. Not that Velvet noticed. In normal circumstances she always felt that everyone was watching her, judging her, and it was a million times worse when she actually had something to hide.

She continued her awkward walk towards Vale's dock, desperately attempting to overcome her panicked breathing. It was a consequence of her nervousness that she'd thought she'd found the strength to overcome. She hadn't had a full blown panic attack in years, one where she honestly thought she was going to die, but even that was resurfacing.

The White Fang had caused so many problems on so many different levels and they weren't the only ones. After all it hadn't been them who had ordered her back here. It had been Ozpin. That wasn't much of a surprise to her.

Unlike most she'd never become enamoured with their enigmatic headmaster. She'd never been drawn in by his mysterious ways. By his promises of equality that he never fully enacted. Since the beginning she'd recognised the type of person he was.

Ozpin needed to be in control. Beacon had been his domain and he'd done everything to keep it that way. She'd told Blake the first time she'd fully opened up to her that Ozpin would rather sacrifice a Faunus under his tutelage rather than attempt to protect Faunus rights in a world that wasn't ready to accept them.

Perhaps back then Blake hadn't believed her. Now she had to. Ozpin had been ousted and in response he'd sent mere students into the heart of the swarm. There was no way that he truly believed they were ready. It took four years to gain a hunter's licence. Four long hard years of study and training. Yang and Blake had barely been there for two semesters.

They would never have been allowed to graduate after such a short time and they had no business being here. It wasn't that she didn't think they were capable. Yang was good in a fight, perhaps as good as any third or fourth year and Blake…

Velvet didn't know what to make of Blake. Sometimes Blake scared her. She was suited to this mission. Too suited. The ease with which she took life spoke of practice. Along with a few verbal slips, Velvet and Coco were beginning to have grains of doubt about Blake's backstory. She'd been ready to neutralise the entire office building by herself. At the time Velvet had thought that farfetched. Now she knew it wasn't.

Blake had killed who knew how many people there? Killed. Actually killed. On the inside it might have affected her deeply, but she didn't show it. Instead she became more distant to all of them. Killing was the thing that Velvet had always tried to avoid.

It was why she'd always refused to fight other students in the combat schools. All it would have taken was a brief lack of concentration or a mistake on her part and her opponent would have died. A lot of people said that when they were subtly trying to brag about how strong they were. For most it was an exaggeration, for her it wasn't.

Armed with Dust she was among some of the most deadly people on the planet. Where most hunters focussed on neutralising a single Grimm, she concentrated on entire packs. It was why she'd never turned her full strength against the White Fang.

In the fall of Vale she'd had the opportunity, but she wouldn't be able to live with the screams. Even the cries of the Grimm troubled her. To hear a human or Faunus wail in anguish as their flesh melted would be too much. She'd never be able to look her family in the eye again.

When she'd told her many siblings that she was going to study at Signal they'd been so excited. To them hunters were almost mythical beings, only existing in tales, and their sister was stepping into the pages of one. And of course her parents had been proud enough that even her father's usual stoicism melted. They understood just what it was she'd overcome to even be offered a place.

She loved her family more than anyone could imagine. Growing up family was all she had. Her parents had sacrificed so much for her. So much. It was only when older did she realise just how little they seemed to eat around birthdays or other holidays. They gave everything they had to their children. It often wasn't enough.

It would have been nice to say she'd never resented them for being poor, but that wouldn't have been true. Some of her classmates at school had been merciless. The ones who always had the latest toys, the most expensive gadgets, to see a Faunus dressed in old clothes was a gift too good to be true. It was in the nature of children to, when bullied, take their frustration out on those closest to them. The pain her tantrums must have caused her parents shamed her immensely. If they could they would have given her the world, the world just wouldn't let them.

It had taken her years to realise that. Racism just wasn't a concept that could be understood by an immature mind. But the love her parents had given her unconditionally more than made up for any material wants. So many people had to suffer through life without having a family there to support them.

Since her realisation she'd helped her family as much as she was able to. Not many would employ a Faunus child, but she'd assisted in ways she could. Doing chores, cooking food, reading to her brothers and sisters, helping them with homework, anything that would allow her to repay some of the debt she owed to her parents.

She never would. No matter what she did. But that didn't mean she should stop trying. Her abilities had meant that she'd had the opportunity to drag her family above the poverty line. That was the main drive for her becoming a huntress, it was one of the few professions where race hardly matter.

It still would have taken years to establish herself though. Years where her parents would have had to continue to sacrifice food. Thanks to Coco her family's respite had been accelerated. It had been difficult to accept the charity the first time Coco had deposited money into her account.

It had been back when they were just friends. Coco had overstepped, although just like normal she didn't really care when she believed what she was doing was right. It was right, but Velvet wanted it to be her who gave something back to her family. Something she'd have to work so hard for, but it would show them just what they meant to her.

It had taken a long time for Coco to talk her around, and even longer still for her to convince her parents. It was perhaps predictable that decades of racism had left them wary to accepting gifts from humans. Especially rich and powerful ones. They saw strings and ulterior motives where in reality there was just empathy and kindness.

It took her and Coco numerous attempts to win them over. The first time Coco had visited the tiny apartment which was her home it had been embarrassing to the point of mortification. It had been normal to her, but she couldn't have imagined just how it looked to Coco. Especially after visiting her family's estate. The Adel's had rooms which were larger than the Scaralatina's entire apartment.

Coco had tried to hide the shock and distaste, but hadn't quite managed it. It was likely the first time she'd actually been inside what was the average living arrangements for a Faunus family. It was easy to ignore poverty when it was just an abstract concept raised at charity galas over glasses of sparkling wine. It was much harder to do in the flesh.

That was the time when Coco had decided she wasn't going to accept no for an answer. Surrounded by Velvet's siblings she simply couldn't allow them to live like that when she had the means to change it. And, as was usually the case, whatever Coco wanted, she got.

Even if Velvet had initially been hesitant, in the end it had only taken the reaction of her family to their new apartment to cause her to burst into tears. Crying wasn't foreign to her, but when tears usually wetted her cheeks they were ones of frustration and near depression; Coco was one of the few people who could make her cry out of joy.

The sight of Berry, Mist, and Rosie rushing excitedly back and forth between their new bedrooms had been too much to handle. Her other siblings had tried to keep their composure. They had all failed miserably. It had simply been too exciting.

Since that day Velvet didn't think the novelty had ever quite worn off. The effect it had on her parents was dramatic as well. Their shoulders no longer bore the weight of trying to balance their meagre budget.

Without rental payments taking up an extortionate amount of their income her dad had quit his second job so he was able to spend time bringing up his children. Suddenly they could afford some of things that had always been denied to them. No longer did they have to scrounge every single lien, instead they could spend some on frivolous entertainment. Her family still wasn't rich, not by a long shot, but now they actually had disposable income.

The apartment Coco had picked had been a godsend, and now it was a ruin. It had taken Velvet a long time to build up the courage to go back there. Several times she'd got to the end of the street only to turn around. Coco had been understanding, but as always Coco had pushed her from her comfort zone.

She hadn't known what she would find when she finally made the trip, but nothing could have prepared her for the reality. Fire had ripped through the building and what hadn't been destroyed had been looted.

Almost everything that her family had painstakingly built up was gone. Destroyed. It shouldn't have mattered. Not when unlike so many others her family had escaped Vale unharmed, but it had still hurt to see Rosie's melted collection of stuffed animals, photos and memories discarded in the soot.

She and Coco had salvaged what they could. Thankfully the looters hadn't been interested in albums or other things that were so important to the people who had lived here. Together they'd managed to collect a bag. That was all, but looking at the singed photos helped her.

The pain of missing her family was agonising. She hadn't thought it would be this hard. Signal hadn't been like Beacon where she could walk into town and see them, but they'd still communicated. Her parents had sacrificed some of their hard earned money to send her messages from a café or to talk to her from a payphone. Here, with access to the CCT still denied to all but the select few simply wasn't possible. Just to hear the sound of their voices would have made it so much easier.

But she wouldn't have wanted them to know what she was doing. It would have shattered her siblings' belief in her. A noble huntress shouldn't be committing acts like this. Ones that would be called criminal if they weren't sanctioned by the state.

Once again the heavy sense of duty settled on Velvet's shoulders as she arrived at her destination. It didn't look like much, an old Faunus tenement, one that had been abandoned, but it provided her with what she needed.

The insides were squalid. Neglected long before the fall of Vale. It was so hard to find the energy to clean mould from the walls when you knew it was your lot. Her tenement building growing up had at least been well-maintained. The residents had seen to that.

Predictably and reliably the elevator was broken and Velvet began the long climb up the stairwell. There were needles on the floor and a new fear arose. It was a stupid one, but so many were. Her mind conjured a junkie leaping out her, swinging at her with a knife. One which wouldn't even break through her Aura, but the anxiety remained.

The scenario remained a figment of her imagination as she made it to the top floor. The apartments here weren't in any better condition and she found the one she wanted locked. No one would bother to loot the rooms of a Faunus. The chances of them having anything even remotely of value were close to non-existent.

Such was the cheapness of the construction it only took her one kick to break open the door. Like many apartments in places like these the residents had saved up enough for an extra lock. It provided little security when the door itself was flimsy. The cheap wood cracked around the metal fixtures and the hinges squealed open.

The room beyond was covered in dust and neglect. It was unlikely that anyone had been in there for months. The scraps of material that made up the curtains were drawn tight, only letting slivers of light in through the holes. A human might have looked at the size and said it was at most a two person apartment and a squeeze at that, but Velvet knew that probably an entire family had been living here.

She wedged the door back in its frame and tried to avoid breathing too deeply as her entrance kicked particles into the air. The curtains practically came apart in her hands as she pulled them back and revealed her city.

The view wasn't what most would call pleasant. From the upper floors of the CCT it was possible to see the city in its entirety. The artistic buildings, the well-tended parks, the unending expanse of the ocean. It perhaps didn't have the stylish sophistication of Dione, with its hundreds of cafés, art galleries, and museums, but it still had character.

The view from a Faunus tenement did not capture anything like that. The window overlooked warehouses and the edges of the docks. No one would want to sit by the window and watch the world pass by. Not that the Faunus often had time for leisurely procrastination.

Velvet forced the dirty glass open in an attempt to clear the stagnant, damp air from the room. If she was going to be here for a while she might as well try and clean up. There was something that approximated to a broom in a closet and after pushing the furniture aside she swept an expanse of floor beneath the window.

Next she put down a clear white sheet from her rucksack, stretching it tight before weighing the corners down. Finally came her box. In truth it wasn't anything special. Unlike most hunters' weapons it didn't have a dozen different forms. It couldn't fire missiles and bullets in equal measure. It was just wood and metal. And it was the most treasured thing she owned.

She didn't know how long her parents had scrimped and saved to afford it? How much they'd sacrificed to be able to give her a present for graduation from Signal? She hadn't asked despite the guilt. It was clear how much it had meant to them.

Inside were simple compartments. When going on missions the largest was filled to the brim with powdered Dust. Most would have said it was extremely dangerous to mix all the different types in an unsecured container, but she'd never had a problem.

This was where her Semblance or abilities made her different to the majority of hunters. To her using Dust felt as natural as breathing. She understood it inherently. She could feel the differences between the types through her Semblance alone. She knew the exact moment when a chain reaction would occur. It was instinctive and something that she'd never been able to find the words to describe properly.

Having loose Dust in combat meant that she could utilise all the different forms seamlessly. It was rare that only one type of Dust was needed. That was what most didn't seem to understand. They viewed Dust as a sledgehammer, just adding it to their Semblances to increase the damage, while she used a paintbrush.

Sure it was possible to pour a handful of red Dust into your Semblance and create a fireball. It would do damage and would likely be effective, but it wasn't efficient. When she used Dust to create a fireball, she primed the air first with green until it was at the correct ratio, laced it with latent red, used blue to create the proper temperature differential, all in a split second before she hit the concoction with the so called hammer.

Using a fraction of what they did, she didn't create a quickly dissipating ball of heat, she created a detonation. One which an ally could be standing a car's length from and escape unharmed while in the other direction a hundred feet of ground was turned to glass.

He initial forays into Dust had been instinctive, but most of her unique techniques had been developed due to her financial situation. Dust was incredibly expensive to someone like her and seeing such a precious resource go up in smoke had always horrified her. By doing things her way and not the textbook's she had been able to save enough to help out her family when they'd really needed it.

At Signal the teachers had seen her affinity with Dustcraft and accelerated her lessons in that aspect. It was only then had she discovered the science behind what she was doing. There were formulas, equations, derivations ̶ ̶ some which were widely accepted but she knew were wrong ̶ ̶ and she'd had to learn them all.

It was why it always annoyed her to be called a mage. She knew her team only did it to tease her, they at least realised that everything she did was back up by hard calculations. Her  _spells_  were just lots and lots of maths. Wizards had it easy.

Velvet kept referring to her notebook as she began pouring Dust into lines on the white sheet. In comparison to some of the others things she'd done over the years her objective today was quick and dirty.

It took less than an hour for her to step back and survey her work. The sheet was covered in a myriad of carefully measured lines, all crossing over each other and forming a pattern. Now that everything was prepared Velvet checked her watch, ate some of her lunch, and braved the apartment's bathroom.

When the majority of those in the street were workers on their break, Velvet removed her shoes and stepped into the middle of the pentagram on the floor. The Dust seemed to buzz in reaction to her presence and all the hairs covering her body stood on end.

Though most would have preferred to have a view of greenery or the ocean, the sight from the window suited her. The numerous metal roofed warehouses and factories reflected some of the sun into her eyes, but even with the rays she could still make out her target.

Torchwick had given them the task of destroying Vale's infrastructure and nothing was more important to the city than the resource she was surrounded by. It was why the White Fang had employed Torchwick in the first place, to steal as much as he could and he had. If he wasn't boasting ̶ ̶ which was admittedly hard to deduce ̶ ̶ there were entire warehouses full of it. One of which was down there.

Even if she didn't already know, it would have been easy to tell which one the White Fang valued above the others. The guards were a dead giveaway. The de facto rulers were getting nervous. This was not the first time she'd done this and their stockpile was slowly being depleted. With the SDC outside the city attacking mines and the resistance inside, energy was soon going to become the White Fang's biggest problem.

Velvet concentrated on her breathing for a few moments before bringing her Semblance to life. It perhaps wasn't surprising that her ability was one that could be used to conceal herself. In fact that was what she'd been doing when she'd Snapped. Bullies from school had been chasing her as they usually did and she'd accidentally run into a dead end alley.

As she huddled in the muck trying to be as small as possible and as her tormentor's raucous voices had echoed off the walls a mist had fallen. A thick cloying mist that obscured everything in sight, including her. But the prayers had left her weak.

After the bullies had given up, not wanting to brave the unseasonal mist, she'd dragged herself back home and practically collapsed into her mum's arms. Sadly it wasn't entirely unusual for her to return home bearing bruises, but this was different. Between her raging fever and nonsensical muttering her mum had seriously been concerned for her health and had rushed her to one of the free clinics that accepted Faunus patients.

It had only taken the doctor a moment to diagnose her, as surprised as he was that a young Faunus would be showing signs of Aura shock, but the wild fluctuations on the monitor were too distinct for it to be anything else. In her terror Velvet had overexerted herself. Pushed far too much of her developing Aura into unlocking and then powering her Semblance.

Snapping was the most common way for people to realise their Semblance. Though some would discover theirs naturally as it became fully developed the majority found it when they needed it most. Emotions were always tightly linked to Aura and when scared or angry people did things they didn't believe possible.

It had taken a week for Velvet to recover, but when she had she'd finally had a way to escape the circle of poverty she thought would be her life. And the key was her Semblance. Most would have said mist would have been close to useless in combat, but it depends on how a person utilises it.

Her Semblance manifested itself in the Dust around her feet and it was as if her senses were spread out like a spider's web. She could feel the heat of the red, the chill of the blue, the crackling energy of the yellow. It was that which gave her such fine control. With the Dust ready to do her bidding she really began to push herself.

Most external Semblances were tied to distance. As they were utilised further and further away, it took more and more Aura to power them. Those with the flashier ones, the glyphs, the clones, might not be able to stretch them more than a hundred feet, in comparison mist was simple. It was just water after all.

She didn't even need line of sight. In the dark corners of the warehouse, next to the shipping containers of Dust, water vapour began to gather.

Even for something as simple as mist the distance would have been challenging for Velvet. That was why she was intelligent. Red and blue lines of Dust flared into life. She directed the energy along the channel she created with her Semblance and the balls of mist began to grow. Then they ignited.

The spheres of fire were perfectly contained. Someone could have put their hand right next to one and would only have felt slightly warm, but her objective was the building not the misguided people who worked there. Though there were undoubtedly some bad eggs, most were just sick of the abuse they suffered. She could understand that even if she didn't agree with hurting people.

The alarms started after a few seconds and the guards sprang into action. Not that there was much they could do. Fire couldn't be fought with guns and they wouldn't be able to find the perpetrator. Like all the other times, their searches were in vain.

Slowly Velvet let flames grow larger, release more smoke, until even the firefighters who arrived were forced to abandon their attempts. It was too dangerous. As workers were evacuated from the surrounding buildings, and when she was sure there was no one left inside, the pentagram at her feet flared into life.

The effect was close to instantaneous. The metal roof was shredded by a great plume of fire that was bright enough that it made the sun appear dim. Lightning crackled and ice blossomed. The elements were unleashed.

It was what made Dust so dangerous. It was just too unstable. The White Fang had consolidated their stockpiles into central locations in an attempt to protect them against the sabotage, but that came with risks. One that would be realised by the leadership as the chain reaction continued unabated.

In truth there wasn't much the White Fang would be able to do to stop Velvet. Her attacks were just too unconventional. It didn't matter how many guards they posted when it was unnecessary for her to breach their cordon. Even now more White Fang were arriving on the scene spreading out and searching for the perpetrators, but all Velvet was doing was calmly packing her things away.

When she left the tenement no one would be able to guess she was responsible for the raging inferno, just as she was responsible for the majority of the other buildings that had burned down. There was practically nothing to tie her to the crime, only the trace Dust left in her box, but her nerves rearose.

It was a difficult trip back across the city. Most people stood still, staring at the plume of smoke and gossiping about what it meant. Most knew. The hounds of war were howling once again.

By the time Velvet arrived back at their apartment she was a nervous wreck. Everyone was judging her action and no one was complimentary. It should have been a relief to step into safety; it wasn't. The tension was almost palpable in the air and it was obvious that both Yang and Blake were present.

Coco and Blake rushed over to greet her, but like so often these days where one was the other wasn't. Velvet sat heavily on the couch and displayed her handiwork on the news. The fire was still raging. Another blow had been dealt to the White Fang, none were terminal, but they were all starting to add up, and soon enough the White Fang would be forced to hit back.

* * *

 

Coco woke with a start. At first she thought she'd been ripped from sleep by Yang's snores again. How team RWBY had put up with them she didn't know. At Beacon Yang would have been dumped into the hallway, here that wasn't an option. It wasn't particularly easy to rouse her either. Even in sleep Yang tended to fight back.

But after a few seconds with no sound from the person sharing her bed it became clear it wasn't Yang who caused her eyes to flair open. Her mind was still trying to crawl its way from her slumber when the door burst open.

Shadows rushed into the room. They were barely discernible in the moonlight, but they certainly weren't the other two members of her team. Their heavy, booted footfalls and large stature made certain of that.

Coco lunged for her purse. Not the one of the bedside table, but the one hidden behind the panel in its base.

"Don't do anything stupid." A hand clamped down on her wrist.

She very nearly did. She was a heartbeat away from activating her Semblance and snapping his arm, but her mind caught up and presented her the facts. If the White Fang had really discovered a resistance hideout, wouldn't they have come in guns blazing?

Those standing in her room hadn't. They had weapons of course, but they were holstered and none looked to be too concerned by what they had found in the room. There was a chance this was just one of the random searches that were occurring all over the city and that it would be possible for them to bluff their way out of it.

As long as no one blew their cover.

Coco ripped herself from the grasp of the White Fang soldier and threw her body over Yang's. It must have looked strange and suspicious, but it was the only thing she could think of. Her hand clamped down on Yang's mouth and she pinned her down, their faces only inches apart.

"It's ok sis. You're safe. You're safe. I'm here. They're not going to hurt us. You just need to stay calm ok?" Coco attempted to will the real meaning behind her words into her.

Yang's eyes were crusted with sleep and unfocused. She might even have slept through the police entering the room, but she was in the process of waking now. Coco kept whispering to her and perhaps the act of Yang thrashing under her improved the act as no one pulled her off.

Finally, now fully awake, Yang nodded subtly. Coco resisted the urge to breathe out a sigh of relief. That battle at least was over. Seeing as there hadn't been any gunshots from the other room it appeared as if Velvet and Blake had decided on the same plan.

Coco rolled off of Yang and sat up. The soldiers, the police, whatever they were, had gathered around the bed. Coco singled out one who appeared to have the most authority.

"I'm sorry. She has night terrors, after… you know." Coco looked down at the sheets, but not before she saw a few sheepish gazes from those around the room. They knew exactly what she was talking about. Coco had dropped her Dionese accent entirely and was imitating a Valesh native. They knew what she'd been through. What they'd caused. That there were some who felt uncomfortable was good. She could use that.

The sergeant decided that the easiest way to deal with the accusation was to ignore it. "Your apartment has been selected for a search. If you'd please wait in the living room."

Again, that was promising. It was just a random search. Yang was playing her part well, holding the sheets up to her chin and looking around with wide and scared eyes. Thankfully, at least for this scenario, they were eyes which were no longer red.

Something had happened when she and Blake had questioned Corvo. Something that neither would talk about although it was clearly at the root of their problems. When Yang had returned her eyes had changed from their fiery red to something else. It wasn't that she was no longer angry, she clearly was. But it was if her anger had transcended past rage to something more, something deeper. Perhaps loathing, though of what Coco couldn't say.

"Do you mind if I get dressed first?" Coco asked gesturing to her body that was only covered by her underwear. Sleeping next to Yang was like sleeping next to a boiler. It might have been pleasant back in Atlas in the middle of winter, here and now it was anything but.

The sergeant looked away again. "Fine but be quick." Coco had hoped that they would leave and give her the chance to double check that anything incriminating was safely squared away, but none of the White Fang moved. Instead she was forced to quickly pull on some clothes before they directed her into the living room.

There were more police already rummaging through their possessions, but those who drew her eye were leant up against the wall near the door. Unlike the others they weren't wearing a standard uniform or carrying the same weapons, and none of them had a White Fang arm band. They were some of those who had been at the core of the terrorist operation before they'd taken Vale.

They were pushed into the room almost at the same time as Velvet emerged from hers. The anxiety that had been twisting her stomach lifted slightly at seeing she was unharmed. Blake came next. As she stepped out and saw the White Fang elite she hesitated and her normally pale face drained of blood. Yang had seen it too and for some reason she chose that moment to drop her timid act.

She strode over to them while gesticulating angrily. "You can't do this! It's got to be illegal or something. We haven't done anything wrong!"

All four of them zeroed in on her, coming out of their bored positions against the wall. "Well I guess we're going to find out then, but if I were you I'd watch your mouth when speaking to us if you don't want to spend the night in a cell."

While they were squaring off against Yang, Blake slunk to a corner and sat so they were just hidden from view by the kitchen counter. To Coco's eyes she genuinely seemed worried. All the suspicions she and Velvet had discussed rose again.

Blake just seemed too familiar with this world. With the White Fang in general. A few of the things she said had made it seem like she knew some of the members personally… And then there were the odd and strange remarks Torchwick occasionally made. And now Blake was acting as if they might recognise her? They would all have to have a talk after this and unearth the truth. Keeping secrets, especially ones as big as what was suspected, from teammates was not ok.

"Don't you need a warrant of something?" Yang asked venomously.

"I have one here." He jammed the tip of his weapon into Yang's exposed midriff and as it sparked the situation deteriorated spectacularly fast.

The current delivered was obviously enough to have dropped a normal person, so his mind jumped to one conclusion when Yang took the attack with barely any reaction.

"Huntress!"

The effect of the word was instantaneous. Yang threw a punch, the White Fang drew their weapons, and something fizzed against Coco's back. The electric shock was painful, but just like Yang it wasn't enough to down her.

She swung her elbow backwards and caught her attacker full in the face. Whoever it was didn't have the strength of a hunter and her Semblance-enhanced blow whipped their neck around. Coco dived at her next opponent.

Their small apartment had turned into a maelstrom of flying fists and desperate combat. There were simply too many bodies in such an enclosed space to use anything but the crudest techniques. In the end though ultimately the numbers were telling.

Yang and Velvet were the only two who were used to fighting without their weapons, though Velvet only did so through necessity. Yang should have been thriving under such conditions, but she had the four core members of the White Fang to deal with.

Another shock baton crackled against Coco's side. Individually they wouldn't have been a problem, but they were starting to add up. She grabbed the wrist which held it and threw the person bodily past her. They crashed through the drywall and someone used the distraction to tackle her.

She was knocked off her feet and her opponents didn't let up. A stop motion shadow was cast as their weapons buzzed repeatedly. As her muscles spasmed someone managed to get cuffs around her wrists. Her straining caused the links to bend and the shocks began again.

It was frighteningly painful. Every blow took just that little bit more out of her, got a little bit closer to robbing her of her protection entirely. Trussed on the floor some may have given her mercy, but that was something that they simply couldn't afford to gift a hunter. They were too dangerous.

But at the end of the day, they were only people. They weren't invincible as much as the media claimed them to be. They could be beaten, and today they'd been beaten by normal people. When her captors finally decided the fight had gone out of her they hauled her to the centre of the room.

Yang was next to her, similarly bound, but looking worse for wear. She'd had the hardest job. By the looks of it she'd given as good as she got. One of the White Fang was standing over her, his nose clearly broken.

"Bitch," he spat at her. "Let's see how you like it?" He brought his boot down squarely on her face. There might not have been the crunch of bone as he'd wanted, but the thump of Yang's head on the wooden floor was sickening.

"Is that the best you've got?" Yang grinned tauntingly and the temperature of the air wafting from her body rose slightly.

"I'm not ̶ ̶ " he cleared his lungs, "I'm not even getting started." He started to kick her before he was forced to abort the motion as he coughed more vigorously.

He wasn't the only one. Everyone in the room were bent over as they hacked. Yang's tormentor fell to all fours, seemingly forgetting her in his panic. Every cough brought up water. Every single one, and around his mouth and nose a thick mist had gathered.

A thick mist that was horrifyingly familiar. Once again Coco was forced to confront just how terrifying her partner was. Velvet was bound next to Blake and was sitting with her eyes closed. Most wouldn't have said mist could be used as an offensive weapon, but then most didn't think like Velvet did.

Mist by itself couldn't hurt people, but water could. Velvet had saturated the area around their faces with cloyingly thick water vapour and every time they breathed in, some went into their lungs. Their bodies' natural defences were making it worse. The coughs only forced them to breathe more deeply.

Aura was rendered obsolete. Even hunters could drown, and all around her the members of the White Fang were drowning. Coughing and spraying their life away. It was awful to behold, but Velvet was saving them. Yang's plan may or may not have worked, Velvet's plan would.

Without the drain of electric shocks Coco's Aura had recovered enough for her to flare her Semblance. The cuffs gave way to her straining. Most of those around her had stopped moving and she searched the nearest for a key. By the time she found it Yang had rolled to her knees and her eyes were flicking between Velvet and those on the floor around her.

They didn't have time for her doubts and whatever else was plaguing her. This patrol would be expected to call in and when they didn't all hell would be raised. They needed to be gone by that time. She hauled Yang to her feet and went to unlock Velvet only to find Blake had already done so. How she'd managed to slip from her handcuffs was just another question to add to the list in the serious sit down they were going to have.

Despite her urgency she paused as she took in the haunted ghost behind Velvet's eyes. Eyes that couldn't stop seeing what she had wrought. Velvet had nightmares about hurting the Grimm. She had such a gentle soul Coco didn't know what her actions tonight would do it to, but she did know she would be there for her.

"Velves look at me." She put her hand against Velvet's cheek. "You saved us. Saved me. Thank you."

Velvet gulped before nodding minutely. Coco would have liked to say more, reassure her that she'd done the right thing, but the clock was ticking.

"Ok Yang, Blake, get anything you need. We're falling back to the warehouse. You have two minutes. Go!"

Coco followed on Yang's heels, throwing her things into a bag. She didn't have much. None of them did. Most of their equipment was stored at various locations around the city. Stirred into motion Yang was busy too. She'd ripped the false panel of the hole they made behind the wall and stuffing money and ammo into another bag.

Coco knew she'd said two minutes, but it took them about twice that. Velvet was still standing dazedly in the centre of the room and Blake had packed for her as well. Coco double-checked that Blake hadn't forgotten the bag they'd saved the ruins of Velvet's home and she pushed it into Velvet's arms hoping its weight would help.

"Come on, let's go." She ushered them into the hallway. If any of their neighbours had heard the commotion they'd long since decided they didn't want any part of it. For a moment, the smallest moment, Coco considered making sure they couldn't talk.

She dismissed it almost as rapidly. They didn't know much. They'd never really interacted with them anyway. But the main reason she dismissed it was because it wouldn't have been right. They were innocents and any move against them would make her no better than those she was fighting against. Hunters had a standard to live up to, and even if that standard itself was becoming blurred in the current climate of the world, she knew she had to follow the one in her heart.

Though Yang and Blake had started off towards the stairs Velvet was just standing there, her eyes wide, the bag clutched in her arms, her ears curled forward over her face. Coco recognised that look. Velvet's actions had caused her to slip into shock.

As much as Coco wanted to try and make it all better there was no opportunity. Hating herself all the while she pushed Velvet in the back roughly until she started walking. Coco took one last look inside the apartment that had been their home for a time before clicking the door shut on the close to twenty people Velvet had killed.

 

 


	23. Chapter 23

"We're nearly there Velves," Coco said as she guided Velvet down the stairs to the hidden room beneath Torchwick's warehouse.

It was always to be their fall-back position in case anything went wrong. And things had gone wrong in perhaps the most spectacular way possible. She didn't know how they'd managed to get across the city in the middle of the night without being detected, but she wasn't worried about that.

She was worried about Velvet. Velvet was close to comatose. She hadn't said a word. Hadn't moved without a nudge in the back. Hadn't done anything apart from hug the bag close to her chest. In all honesty it terrified Coco.

The threats of personal injury or maybe even death were things that, while best avoided, she'd come to terms with. A hunter always ran that risk. But what really kept her awake at night was the thought of the same things happening to one of her friends. It was why she had drilled her team so extensively, forged them into Beacon's best, it was their best chance of avoiding tragedy.

She'd pushed Velvet further than she'd likely ever thought was possible. Made her stronger, better versed in Dust theory, and more sure of herself. The result was what she'd done what she'd done tonight. That she'd even been able to do it at all.

Out of all those she'd met at Beacon Velvet was the least suited to the life of a hunter. Quite simply put she was too good. Too pure. For her there was no thrill in combat, no wanting to prove she was the strongest. If not for the fact that the career of a hunter was one on the only non-menial paths open to Faunus, Coco very much doubted that, even with her incredible skills, Velvet would have joined Beacon.

Velvet had never managed to come to terms with the necessity to kill. In bed a night she would toss and turn as she replayed the deaths of even the Grimm. They were monsters that slaughtered indiscriminately, had almost driven society to the edge of extinction, and Velvet felt sorry that she'd ended their lives so horrifically.

And now more leaves had been ripped from the tree of life by the fury of Velvet's tempest. Lives that weren't Grimm. Faunus lives. The lives of people who were so like her. Velvet was truly powerful, but she was also vulnerable.

"Sit down," Coco took the bag from Velvet's arms and lowered her into a chair. As far as she was aware there wasn't anyone else in the basement. "It's going to be ok." In all honesty Coco didn't know if that was true. There was no way that she could know at this exact moment just how deep the wounds in Velvet's psyche would be.

Coco checked behind her. Yang and Blake hadn't said a word in the intervening time either. Blake had scouted ahead and directed them, while Yang had stuck close, but they both seemed to be processing what had happened in their own way.

Yang was still pale, her Aura had recovered enough from her beating to heal any outward signs of injuries, but the tone in her skin indicated she was close to shock too. Blake wasn't. Of course Blake wasn't. Blake looked just as she always did. Neutral and unconcerned. As if she hadn't just watched close to twenty people die.

Coco couldn't just forget why Velvet had been forced into saving them all. She rounded on them.

"What the hell happened you two!" Her voiced echoed in the enclosed room.

Blake and Yang exchanged a glance. That absolutely incensed her. That they had the audacity to communicate right in front of her about something this big. It wasn't okay.

"Spit it out! Now!" In her anger her accent had slipped back into her native one.

They still didn't speak, though Yang seemed to nonverbally pass the responsibility onto Blake. Coco stalked closer. "Well!"

"Nothing happened." Blake looked away.

"Nothing! Because of you two Velvet had to kill all those people!" She heard a whimper from behind her, but her anger drove her forward.

Blake shrugged nonchalantly. "At least they can't talk."

Coco saw red. Her Semblance flared and her hand lashed out. She lifted Blake by the throat and slammed her into the wall hard enough to crack the plaster. Caught off guard by the surprise and speed of her attack Blake didn't have a chance to fight back. With her strengthened muscles Coco could feel the Aura around Blake's neck beginning to give way.

"Maybe lives don't matter to a psychopath like you, but they do to any normal fucking person!" Coco snarled staring into amber eyes which were frantic with terror. Perhaps she was expecting her partner to step in, but that wasn't going to happen. Blake's callous words had incensed Yang as well. She was nowhere to be seen. It didn't matter though, Blake was the target of Coco's ire.

She squeezed harder until she could feel Blake's skin; the Faunus ineffectually scratched at her hand. "This is your fault and you're not even going to tell me why? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't beat it out of you!" It was a pointless request; Blake would barely have been able to draw enough air to form a word.

"Because she's your friend." The soft words drove like a knife through her rage. The touch on her arm was like a lightning bolt. Her hand sprang open and Blake slid down the wall drawing in haggard breaths and coughing.

"Velves," Velvet had finally come to her senses and it was just in time to see her choking one of her friends. Velvet's wide-eyed stare made Coco's insides twist. "I'm sorry."

"It's not me you should be apologising to." Velvet still didn't sound quite normal, she still didn't seem all there, but it was an improvement. She knelt down next to Blake and Coco joined her.

"Blake I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Coco said to her. Blake nodded weakly while massaging her throat.

"No she shouldn't have, but she's got a point Blake. Don't you think we deserve to know what's actually going on? We're in this with you but we're only getting half the story. It's not fair."

Blake coughed again, shaking her head and avoiding looking at anyone. "I can't…" Her voice was hoarse. With one hand she continued to massage the bruises on her trachea, half hugging herself with the other.

"You can. We're your friends Blake, and friends don't keep secrets like this from each other. It won't change how we feel about you, no matter what it is."

Coco wasn't sure about that. What she'd seen in the past few weeks was more than enough to cause Coco to reconsider who Blake actually was. If her suspicions were true, Blake might very well be someone who she didn't want to associate with.

Blake met Velvet's eyes for the first time before her gaze went back to the floor. "It would." Her voice was barely a whisper.

Velvet didn't speak for a while. "You were part of the White Fang weren't you? Or you at least know some of them."

Coco watched Blake intently as Velvet voiced some of the thoughts they'd shared over the last couple of days. Blake was just too familiar with every facet of this mission. It always seemed to be her singling out the White Fang's most vulnerable point; it spoke of insider knowledge. Then there was her academic record. Or the lack of it. People did not become as good as her by training with a village militia.

Blake didn't move. She literally froze with not even her chest rising and falling. Her eyes were locked on the floor, but they seemed to be staring hundreds of miles away. It wasn't natural. Normal people didn't react like this.

"It's ok Blake. We know, and we haven't told anyone else. We just want to hear your side of the story."

For a moment Blake remained frozen, seemingly having not even heard Velvet. Haltingly, she slowly shook her head left and right, her unfocused eyes never leaving the floor. The hand still at her own throat began trembling, and slowly moved to cover her mouth. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes before she shut them. Letting out a strangled sob, her denying head shakes turned into furtive nods.

How Velvet managed to muster a smile after everything Coco simply didn't know. Her own reaction to the near confession was less gratuitous, she could only think of the ramifications behind it.

"Was it before, you know? Or after?" Velvet didn't need to say what she was referring to; the transition from peaceful protest group to terrorist organisation.

"Both." Blake whispered behind her hand, tears slowly running down her face.

There it was. The confirmation of what they'd believed. That they'd been living with a terrorist. One of those they had been sent to fight against. Sure Blake might be on their side now, but just how deep did her old sympathies lie? And just what had she done in her time as a member? What crimes had she committed?

Velvet handled the situation better than Coco did. Her voice was devoid of the accusations and anger that was surging around Coco's mind. Coco didn't quite know how she managed it though. The White Fang had made her life hell. Made the lives of the Faunus so much worse wherever they went. "Can you tell us about it?"

Blake was silent for a time before her eyes blinked open and she slowly lowered her hand back to her throat. "I was part of it before… I believed in it… We were doing good. We were making lives better. After," Blake stopped her broken recounting and closed her eyes for a few heartbeats, the tears still freely running down her face. "…the attack. I was just carried along. I didn't have the strength to get out. I was young.

"I was told it was the only way we'd make a difference and I believed them. I wasn't involved in the heart of it, but I know some of the members who were around. One of them trained me. Taught me how to fight. I mainly scouted for them. I saw the others things they did though. I always wanted to leave but had nowhere to go…" Blake trailed off.

"But you did in the end," Velvet prompted.

Blake nodded. "One day it was just too much… Something… something happened… and I just left with barely a word. Since that day I've lived in fear of them catching up. To them I'm a traitor, and to everyone else I'm a criminal.

"Only my team knows. And Sun. Ozpin doesn't. He'd execute me. Or hold it over me." There was sudden panic in her eyes. "You can't tell him!" She implored them.

"I won't," Velvet reassured her. "I know what he's like. But Torchwick?"

She shook her head. "He saw how the White Fang reacted to me once. He guessed. I guess Neo knows as well."

"So…when I told you about the White Fang back at Beacon. What they did to us. You were part of it?"

Blake nodded her eyes returning to the ground.

"But you were a kid. You didn't have any authority. You couldn't have changed them?"

Blake shook her head.

"Then it's not your fault."

How could Velvet say that? Everyone was responsible for their own actions. Everyone. No matter the circumstances you always had a choice. And at any point Blake could have said no. Velvet was certainly a more forgiving person than her. But that was what made her so special. She could have held any number of grudges for the torment she'd been subjected to throughout her life, but she didn't. Coco knew she wasn't that strong. It would take a lot more than that for Blake to earn redemption.

Blake's head had snapped up at Velvet's words. For some reason rather than mollify her they seemed to make her feel even more guilty.

"And that's why Yang did what she did. You recognised some of the people I…" It was Velvet's turn to trail off. Coco placed a hand on her back and stroked her softly.

Blake nodded. That was a place that none of them needed to go. Velvet's realisation of what she'd done hit her again in full force. Coco felt her tremble and pulled her into an embrace. Coco didn't know what to do.

None of her tutors or teachers had ever prepared her to lead in a situation like this. They couldn't have. Who could have predicted it? One of her teammates was a terrorist, another couldn't even stay in the same room, and the best of them, the kindest one, had just done something which could possibly have scarred her forever.

For all her experience and practice she just had no clue how to resolve it. Or even if she wanted to. If society was to survive those who committed crimes had to be called to account for them. Even if she's just been an observer Blake had likely been involved in numerous White Fang attacks, and every moral part of Coco said she should be called to account for it.

Perhaps on this mission, by working against her former comrades, she could atone. Perhaps. Or perhaps not. Those who had died at the hands of the White Fang would not be resurrected just because the organisation was defeated now. The pain they'd caused would not be undone. Blake would forever have to bear the weight of her actions.

At least now Coco could understand just why she was so callous, so world-weary. Just why she was able to kill with such ease. It was what she'd been  _trained_  to do. In combat schools you learned to duel, to fight Grimm, but most importantly the teachers tried to impart the reasoning behind why the world has chosen hunters to protect them. Why you should choose to fight. The White Fang would not have had such priorities.

As Velvet cried against her shoulder Blake slid away before rising. Coco needed time to think, to try and process all of this. "Don't leave," she told her. Blake nodded. They needed to lie low until the consequences of the night's events became apparent.

After Blake shut herself away in another room Coco knelt on the floor, rocking Velvet slightly. She tried to work out just how everything had gone this wrong this badly; she needed to come up with a plan to at least slow the slide towards disaster.

The door shook in its frame as Yang slammed it and through it she faintly heard Blake mutter.

"Oh sure just walk off again. Real mature Yang."

Trapped for days in the hidden basement the next room was the furthest Yang could get from Blake. It wasn't far enough. She hadn't been able to stand the sight of Blake, and now she couldn't escape from her.

If anything their relationship had gotten worse. She didn't know how it was possible after what had happened with Corvo, but every time she believed they were at their lowest ebb, Blake would just shrug off twenty deaths as if they didn't matter. Yang honestly hated her, but not as much as she hated herself.

It all came back to Corvo. She didn't want it to, she'd tried to put that night to the back of her mind, but it was close to impossible. She couldn't forget what she'd been a part of, what she'd done. That the information they'd gathered had at least been useful didn't help. It had just been wrong.

Blake didn't seem to feel that way, or at least not the Blake that had replaced the person who had been her friend. Since coming back to Vale Blake had changed. She'd thrown herself so utterly into the objectives of her mission that nothing else seemed to matter.

To her everything had to advance their goals and nothing was off the table. Nothing. Even mutilating a corpse to send a message. It might have been effective. So effective that even the White Fang hadn't been able to cover up the news of the attack on the office, but it wasn't right.

It was just what the White Fang would have done. What they had done in the past. Terror was an incredibly effective weapon, but it was a weapon that should be wielded by the terrorists, not by those who were supposed to be fighting against them.

Yang didn't know if Torchwick had ordered it or if Blake had improvised but in the end the result had been the same. Six dead men and their blood on Blake's hands. It hadn't helped that she'd tried to lie about it, saying it wasn't her when the evidence was plain. In the days since Yang hadn't even been able to even look at Blake without seeing that grisly visage.

Before her eyes Blake had regressed to what she must have been like after her parents had died, and Yang didn't know how to bring her back. There wasn't anything she could do. Not when she could hardly bear to be in the same room as her.

Coco almost felt the same way. Though Yang had been too angry to pay much attention to what had happened in the main room, Blake had apparently confessed to being part of the White Fang. Unlike when she revealed herself to team RWBY, the truth had driven yet another wedge between Blake and those who were meant to be her teammates. In her isolation she had become even more unbearable, hitting out at everyone around her except Velvet. The truth that was tearing everyone else apart somehow bonded the two Faunus.

The mutual hostility had gotten so bad that Blake and Yang weren't even partners anymore. Yang had tried. Without even meaning to she'd tried. When she saw Blake cowering from her old comrades she'd tried to distract them. It had happened instinctively. Blake had been in trouble, and that meant Yang had to help her. But short of repairing their relationship, there had just been more killing. It was all they ever seemed to do these days.

Yang hadn't thought that the deployment would be easy. When Ozpin had thrown them into this situation she'd known how bad it would be. But she'd at least believed she and Blake would be able to get through it together. She never thought that Blake would be the one causing most of her torment.

Yang just wanted her friend back. She was a person who needed other people. Relationships with others were what brought her the most joy in the world, but they could equally bring the most hurt. And at the moment Blake brought her hurt.

As she sat on the floor in the corner of the makeshift bedroom, tears began to gather in the corner of her eyes. She was sick of crying; it was a sign of weakness but she couldn't help it. Tears had never used to be the answer to a problem; not when it had been her job to be strong for Ruby.

But now that her sister was older and had other people to look out for her, she'd lost that excuse to keep her feelings bottled up. It wasn't like it was possible for her to take her anger out on anyone either. Not when the person she was angry with was also the person she missed so badly. The only course of action that seemed open to her was to hug her knees and weep.

Sometime later there was a soft knock on the door.

"Can I come in?" Velvet asked.

Yang wiped the residue of salt from her face. She'd long since run out of tears and had spent the time thinking. "Yeah." Her voice wasn't broken, instead it was just tired. Tired of the mission. Tired of constantly feeling how she did.

Velvet slipped inside, silently closing the door after her. "Hey," she sat on the carpet next to her.

Yang glanced at her, but when Velvet didn't continue she went back to staring at the wall. She didn't know what to make of Velvet either. Since finding out about her talents Velvet had scared her. When Velvet fought it made her feel powerless. And now she'd watched Velvet kill while entirely unarmed and bound. With barely any trace of effort.

Back in the apartment she'd thought they were done for. Her attempts to get the White Fang member to hurt her enough to recharge her Semblance had been a last desperate attempt to salvage the situation. She hadn't known if it would work, but she knew she had to try something.

Velvet had saved them all and in doing so she'd had to kill. That was at least something that Yang could understand. In the heat of battle Yang had as well, but anytime she remembered her victims it left her feeling sick.

That was the proper response. It was the one Velvet had experienced as well. Blake's hadn't. What Blake had done on this mission was bad enough, but that it didn't seem to bother her was the worst part. Yang had never seen Blake in shock from her actions. Never seen any remorse.

That was the root of their problem. The Blake she'd become friends with would have shown something other than icy detachment. It was as if she didn't know her at all.

Velvet's presence was a comfort. Even if it was only a small one. But she was past the point where mere companionship could help. It wouldn't change anything.

In the brief look she'd had at Velvet it was only too clear her friend was under immense strain. Velvet still hadn't fully gotten over what she'd been forced to do, and that was just the way it should be. Death shouldn't be able to be brushed aside so easily.

Velvet's ears were drooping low over her face and she stroked the tip of one as she contemplated what to say. She was never one to speak when silence would do, but words were needed here.

"Yang, I know we might not be best friends but I hope you feel that you can talk to me." Velvet stopped and thought some more. "I'm not quite sure what's exactly at the root of the problems between you and Blake. Perhaps it's not my place to know. I don't mind if you don't want to tell me. But I know it's hurting you both." She paused again. "She's been crying as well."

Even now, in the midst of all of this, that piece of knowledge did not sit well with Yang.

"Anyone at Beacon could see how close you two were," Velvet continued. "Beacon did that. It forced you to risk everything in another person's hands. I got lucky when Coco became my partner. I would probably have never gotten to know her otherwise. I think you got lucky too."

Had she been lucky? Her life was infinitely better with Blake in it ̶ ̶ there was no one at Beacon who she would rather have been partnered with ̶ ̶ but the Blake who had been reading a book by candlelight in Beacon's main hall that first night, was not the one she knew now. They'd both changed and not for the better.

"Blake's your friend Yang. Your best friend. All you have to do is talk to her. Talk, not shout. Perhaps you might not be able to get back to where you were, but you've got to be able to get to a better place than you are now.

"You're both miserable. And Coco's miserable. And I'm miserable. Being back here, doing… the things we've had to do, it's taking its toll on all of us. We don't know what's going to happen in the future. We only just managed to escape last time. Next time we might not be able to. But if we're going to have a chance to see our families again, we need to be able to rely on you two, and at the moment I'm not sure we can."

Yang knew she was letting the pair of them down. Just by being unable to work with Blake she was forcing Coco and Velvet to sacrifice the partnership they had spent years working on. She and Blake fought so seamlessly in combat; almost to an extent they were aware of each other's thoughts. If worse came to worse, there was no way she could be as effective with Coco instead. She was putting Coco and Velvet in more danger than they deserved.

Velvet continued to speak in her quiet and timid voice, coming to the crux of her point. "Look, I'm not asking you to fix everything overnight. I just want you to stop fighting. If Blake works up the courage, she's going to ask you something, and if she does, give her a chance. Remember who she is Yang. Who she really is. She's your friend. Your best friend. Your partner. You don't hate her. I don't believe that. Not for a heartbeat. You can't. So just give her a chance. Please. For me. For her. For you."

Velvet looked imploring at her. When Yang didn't turn her head she perhaps sensed that Yang needed time to think, and left her to her thoughts.

A chance. That was what Velvet had called it in one of the longest monologues Yang had ever heard from her. She didn't know what it could be? What singular thing could possibly begin to undo the damage that had been done between them? But if there was a chance, it was worth it.

Wasn't it?

* * *

 

Yang waited nervously at the small table. She shouldn't have been nervous. Not really. She wasn't preparing to assault a White Fang hideout or destroy a shipment of Dust, but despite the mundaneness of why she was killing time it scared her far more. There was just too much riding on it for her not to be.

When Blake had tentatively approached her, she'd taken the proffered chance. This was it. Perhaps their last opportunity to recover even a modicum of what they'd once had. Yang wasn't sure how such a simple thing could even begin to undo everything, but she could come up with no better alternative.

"Are you ready?" As usual Blake had entered the room in complete silence.

Yang stood up hurriedly, her chair scraping on the hard floor. "Yeah." She'd been ready for hours.

"So do you want to uhh… go?" Blake's voice was hesitant, as if she was treading on eggshells. In reality she was. In the past few days it had only taken a single errant word to set one of them off.

"Sure. After you." Their conversations had become so stilted; it was as if they'd just met. To fill in the awkward silence as they headed to the door Yang added, "You look great."

It was true. To Yang's eyes Blake very rarely looked anything less than that, but today, perhaps in light of its importance, she had made an effort. Her midnight blue hair was freshly brushed, her face flushed from her recent shower, and her clothes were clean and new.

While Vale still wasn't receiving that many shipments containing garments ̶ ̶ there were much higher profit margins to be made with other supplies ̶ ̶ there were still new ones finding their way to the market stalls. Some of the factories within Vale had reopened, and the White Fang was gradually cataloguing and releasing the countless products that had been stored in Vale's warehouses. Plus, that wasn't counting the state-sponsored looters who were clearing out homes that had not been claimed.

Blake was dressed flamboyantly ̶ ̶ especially for her ̶ ̶ but the situation called for it. Whereas she normally wore colours that would blend into the shadows, tonight she stood out. Her skin-tight pants were unblemished white, topped with a black blouse, and a hot pink blazer. It was so strange to see her wearing such colours, Yang couldn't help than think Blake had done it deliberately. Was it meant to signal their fresh start?

Her own attire was also bright and colourful; she'd followed the instructions in that regard. Though mainly due to the warm air rolling off the sea and her own higher than average body temperature, she'd opted for a bright red sundress and flats.

"Thanks. You do too."

Blake might only have been returning the compliment, but it reminded Yang of all the times Blake had shared the sentiment before.

"What do you want to do?" Yang asked when they navigated their way into a residential district.

"I'm not sure." Blake had to dodge to the side as a group of over excited children raced past, their beleaguered parents flashing an apologetic smile as they sought to catch up. "I guess we just follow everyone else."

There was a general consensus in direction from those in sight. It seemed that everyone in Vale was filtering from their homes and heading towards the commercial districts. There was a joyous atmosphere, but then there should be, it was a festival after all.

More specifically the Festival of the Hunter's Moon. It was one that wasn't familiar to Yang. She'd never seen it celebrated before, and had only heard its name rarely. For all the joy it was bringing to those around her, it had one major flaw. It was a Faunus festival. One that the White Fang had decided should take place in public once more.

It was wrong that the Faunus hadn't been allowed to celebrate their heritage, but it was to be expected. For the most part humanity was scared of anything that was different. The Faunus having their own distinct culture was one of the main factors that had allowed them to throw aside all their minor grievances and unite during the Faunus War. In the time since many had tried to stamp it out, and it was a testament to the strength of the Faunus that even under that iron boot, they had kept it alive.

"Did you ever celebrate this before?" Yang asked, only to want to slap herself. It had taken her all of a few minutes to steer their staggering conversation onto a darker topic. Blake's life before Beacon had either been with the White Fang or with her murdered parents. There was no way that Blake could avoid thinking about them. "Sorry. You don't have to answer," she added hurriedly.

"No it's fine." Blake took a few seconds, mulling over her words. "We did. My parents were proud of who they were. They had to struggle for so much in life, but they'd always said that the humans could only take away our pride if we let them. We couldn't do anything like this, but we'd have a big meal, and we'd celebrate it in our own way.

"That's actually one of the things I'm interested about. Everyone has their own story. My parents always told me ours," she gestured to her ears atop her head. "It's pretty incredible when you think about it. Not only has the basis of the festival been passed down since before the written word, but alternate versions from the different tribes have survived to this day as well. I wonder how they will include them all?"

"So what's your tale?"

"I'm not spoiling it for you," Blake smiled mysteriously. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Yang returned the smile. This was the Blake she knew. The one who had smirked just like that in the Emerald Forest.

"Come on, give me a hint." When she'd first seen the posters set up around the town she'd searched for information online, but surprisingly there was very little to come by. It was almost as if it didn't exist.

"Nope." Blake seemed to be enjoying holding the secrets over her and Yang was all for it. If it allowed them to talk more freely, she was willing to be the butt of a few jokes.

Despite it being a Faunus festival Yang wasn't the only human on the streets. Though ultimately the White Fang might have preferred to create a Faunus only state in reality that simply wasn't going to be possible. If  _this_  Vale was to survive at some point they would have to gain the support of the human population as well.

A festival was as good a place to start as any. By showing the humans Faunus culture, by inviting them to share in the experience, they would perhaps realise that the Faunus aren't so different from them after all. It wouldn't be easy, especially due to how some of the White Fang still treated them, but it had to begin somewhere. And maybe it might make those considering it think twice about joining the resistance.

It was likely why none of the White Fang they saw even gave Yang a hard look. They'd been stuck underground while Torchwick worked out just how much their cover had been blown. He still hadn't come back with a definite answer. There didn't seem to be anyone looking for people matching their descriptions, and he'd even let them go out to buy clothes in the morning. Perhaps even he had sensed that they needed this despite the possible danger.

This evening though, the White Fang on duty would have been instructed not to cause a commotion. There were more of them than usual ̶ ̶ gradually Vale was moving towards the declaration of martial law ̶ ̶ but those on the streets seemed friendlier than the more world-weary core. They even took part in the festivities.

The main thoroughfare through Vale's commercial district had been transformed. Thousands of coloured lanterns were suspended from wires, it wasn't dark enough yet for them to be the only source of light, but after the sun set it would be magical. Groups of musicians had set up every dozen feet and the revellers were treated to a blend of traditional and more modern melodies.

It appeared that everyone had bought into the atmosphere. The air was full of laughter and of conversation. People danced to the tunes, switching out partners randomly, Faunus or human it didn't seem to matter.

Everyone bought into the atmosphere apart from Blake. Though her step had lightened in time to the music, as they continued to walk her body tensed, and Yang realised why. The crowd may have been good natured and festive, but it was still a crowd.

"What's down there?" Yang grasped Blake's hand and pulled her towards a quieter street.

It was only after a few seconds that Yang realised she was touching Blake. As she hadn't done in weeks. For someone who thrived on contact with others it only showed just how deep their problem had been.

In that moment of comprehension, she could have recoiled, let go as if Blake's flesh were aflame, but she managed to hang on. It might only have been the slightest bit of contact, but to feel the softness of Blake's palm in her own, the delicateness of her fingers… it was something too pleasant to wilfully abandon. Blake didn't pull away either. Instead she gave Yang's hand a quick squeeze, perhaps a silent thank you for allowing her an escape from her fears.

"Oh right. Food," Yang said looking around at the stalls which had been set up. There were still a lot of people here, but at least there was room to breathe. "I suppose I could eat, umm…" she trailed off as she failed to recognise the majority of what was on offer.

Blake chuckled. "It's traditional food. Come on." This time Blake took the lead and Yang let herself get pulled along. It was a disappointment when Blake released her hand, but it was one she could live with. They'd stopped in front of a cook who had similar ears to Blake on her head. They were a slightly different shape and had a lighter shade of fur, but it was obvious as to why Blake had chosen this stall in particular.

"Al dival, al kiserai, al mashi, serenla," Blake spoke fluidly in a language Yang didn't recognise.

The older woman gave a slight start before she bowed her head. "Tain shari. It's rare to meet someone your age who knows the tongue. It's important that we never forget where we came from. Do you see anything that takes your fancy?"

"Are those Mieresen?" Blake said eagerly, pointing to something which to Yang looked similar to a fishcake.

"Of course. They were freshly caught this morning. It wouldn't be right to celebrate without them." The woman scooped a half dozen into a bag, but stopped Blake reaching for her purse. "Take them. I couldn't charge one of the blood. They are too few of us around as it is nowadays."

"I couldn't."

The woman smiled and released the bag over Blake's hands forcing her to catch it lest the food spill onto the ground. "Well it seems that we've reached an impasse. I think you'll find you need several decades to catch up to me in terms of stubbornness. Go and enjoy yourselves."

Blake had the good grace to know when she was beaten. "Dovienya nesodhin soende." The woman smiled and bowed her head again. Blake turned to Yang. "Let's go and find somewhere to eat these.

As it happened they weren't too far from the sea, and they ended up sitting on the wall with their feet hanging over the gentle waves. The warm salt air was refreshing after so long spent surrounded by the competing smells of the festival. There were still people here, there was a café not too far away, but they were almost alone.

"I didn't know you could speak any other languages," Yang said as she took her first bite of the food. It was good, she didn't know quite what was in it, but her initial guess had been right. It was a fishcake, though one with heavier spices than she was used to. It was so delicately fried that as soon as she bit past the outside crispiness the tender centre almost melted in her mouth. She closed her eyes and savoured the taste.

When she opened them she found Blake watching her, obviously enjoying her reaction to the food. "I can't, not really. I can get by, but that's about it."

"What language was it anyway? I don't think I've ever heard it before."

"I'm not all that surprised. It's supposedly the language developed by my ancestors. Whether it actually is or not I'm sceptical. I would imagine it's evolved over time like everything does, but it's still probably similar. My parents taught it to me when I was growing up."

"Do you think you could teach me something?" Yang ventured. It was something that was obviously important to Blake, but she didn't know if it would be breaking any traditions for an outsider to learn it.

Blake quirked her head before the corners of her mouth turned up. "I suppose. I'm not sure where to start though."

"How about what you said back there?"

"That's… actually fitting. The first thing I said was a traditional greeting.  _Al dival, al kiserai, al mashi, serenla._ "

"Al dival, al kiserai, al mashi, se… se…"

"Serenla." Blake rolled the 'r' slightly.

"Al dival, al kiserai, al mashi, serenla. How was that?"

"Pretty good for a first attempt," Blake had picked up on Yang's eagerness.

"What does it mean anyway?"

Blake thought for a moment. "There isn't quite a direct translation, but something along the lines of 'For light, glory, and…'" Blake trailed off.

"And?" Yang prompted

"For light, glory, and love." In the fading light Blake blushed.

Yang joined her in looking out at the sea.  _Love._ It was such a small word, just four letters, but those four letters represented the most powerful concept on the planet. Everyone experienced it as some point or another. It was a beautiful thing, but its absence was enough to push someone over the edge. Wars had been started in the name of love and they had been ended because of it. In the end love and life were intrinsically linked. It wasn't possible to have one without the other.

"Serenla means sister," Blake continued. "Al dival, al kiserai, al mashi, serenla."

"Al dival, al kiserai, al mashi, serenla," Yang repeated. Now that she knew the meaning the phrase was such a pretty way to greet anyone. Yang couldn't help but imagine just what life had been like for the people who spoke it exclusively.

"Good. She replied ' _Tain shari'_ , which means 'True blood' in reference to these," she pointed at her ears. "And finally I said  _'Dovienya nesodhin soende'_  which translates to something along the lines of 'May luck follow you'."

"And what did you say these were called again?" Yang said around another bite of the fishcakes.

"Mieresen. My mum used to make them for us on special occasions. My grandmother taught her the recipe, her mother taught her, and so on, all the way back for who knows how long and I…"

Yang didn't push the subject further. It would be a tragedy if the ancient knowledge had died with Blake's parents, and she knew that Blake would blame herself. Hurriedly she tried to distract the pair of them. "What was the second thing again?"

It worked. Blake set about patiently teaching her the phrases while they ate their meal and watched the waves. After many repetitions Yang believed she was getting the hang of it, and as they finished eating Blake asked her a question.

"Well, what's your opinion on the food of my ancestors?"

The question was superfluous. It would have been only too clear to Blake, by Yang savouring even the last crumbs from the bag, just what she thought of the Mieresen. They were truly delicious, but Blake had set her up too neatly for her to give the truth. Instead it was time for a legendary Xiao Long pun. Yang worked hard to keep the mirth off her face as she formulated the perfect one, and instead raised a hand to her mouth as if she were thinking.

"I'm not sure. There's just something about them." Blake leant in slightly, waiting for an answer, and Yang knew she had her. "I suppose… they cod be batter." Yang's teeth showed in self-appreciation.

In comparison Blake's face went blank and she shook her head disappointedly.  _Perhaps she'd missed it._

" _Cod_  be  _batter,_ get it?" Yang reiterated.

Blake sighed heavily, and it very much appeared that she was seriously considering pushing Yang off of the wall into the sea. Yang replayed the pun in her mind.  _It hadn't been that bad had it?_  Blake wasn't the biggest fan of puns at the best of times but that one should have at least got a chuckle.

Blake got up and began to walk away without a backwards glance.

_Maybe she was out of practice_. Yang jumped up and hurried after her. "Blake, wait up. I'm sorry." Her step slowed and Yang came abreast of her. "I was just squidding."

Blake sped up again and Yang burst out laughing.  _That one had definitely been good._

* * *

 

Yang knew she'd needed this. The break. The chance to unwind. The momentary respite from the planning and the subterfuge. From the savagery. But most of all she'd needed her best friend. Today, for this brief time they weren't in the middle of a war. There wasn't anything trying to force them apart. Nothing to cause them to go for each other's throats.

Instead she was experiencing something completely new to her with Blake by her side. Throwing herself head first into the unknown was one of her favourite things to do. For as long as she could remember it had been her dream to travel the world. To meet new people, savour unknown customs, and for every day to be different. If she could do it as huntress while helping people? All the better.

When the responsibility of looking after Ruby in their childhood became just a little too much to bear, but she hadn't yet slipped into mindless anger at the unfairness of her situation, she'd had a way of helping herself. Looking through travel magazines and whimsically imagining all the places she could travel to. Escape to.

While it was true that, excluding Atlas, most people lived in constant fear of the Grimm, there were still numerous settlements outside of the major cities. Small villages and towns that the majority of the time just weren't worth the effort of attacking. Those were the places that she'd fantasised about. Sure she'd wanted to experience all the cities of the world too, but each of those little havens would have been different.

Though it had never dawned on her before, if she'd had the opportunity to travel she might have hazarded on a Faunus settlement. They supposedly existed, but they kept to themselves for obvious reasons. She didn't know if a human would have been welcomed, though after today she had to admit it was more than likely.

Everyone had been exceptionally warm, from the stall owners, to the musicians, to even the White Fang. If they'd had orders not to discriminate against humans, those on patrol had followed them to the letter.

All in all it had turned what would have been a great experience into a magical one. The Faunus population was eager to show off how they celebrated when they were allowed to. The dancing and entertainment stretching for what must have been miles was only the start of it.

As the sun started to set and the Hunter's Moon rose, the masquerade began. Blake had neglected to give her prior warning so she hadn't quite known what to make of it the first time she came face to face with a dragon.

It wasn't a real dragon of course. If they had ever existed they had long since been forced into extinction, but the disguise was impressive enough on a darkening night to make her pulse climb just one or two extra notches.

Most hadn't donned a full costume, but all were wearing a mask of some kind. What seemed like the entire population of Vale had transformed into a menagerie of mythical creatures. There were griffins, manticores, centaurs, fairies, and more, and they were only the ones she could put a name to. Many of the masks she saw represented beings from the stories that had been passed down by all the different tribes.

It was possible that she would have felt left out if not for the fact that, as usual, Blake had come prepared. Consequently a sphinx and a chimera had been able to immerse themselves fully. It had been a lot of fun to pretend to be someone else. The only thing which would have made it more enjoyable for Yang was if she were able to live up to her mask and use her Semblance to impress the children with flashes of flame.

Even in the midst of the festivities that wouldn't have been sensible. She wasn't sure it would have been possible anyway; her Semblance was tied inexorably to her emotions and, amazingly, for the first time in what seemed millennia, anger wasn't at her beck and call.

The natural flow of the congregation brought them towards Vale's main park for the culmination of the event. On the soft grass still warm from the day's sun, Yang leant against Blake. The wonderful evening hadn't undone all the damage, but just like Velvet had said, it had given them the chance to start.

From their resting place near the top of the natural slope they were able to take in the ambience. Like much of Vale, the park had been lit by hundreds of different coloured lanterns. The softly shifting hues made those who were still wearing their disguises seem even more real.

But the main focus of everyone in the park was the stage that had been erected at one end. Yang didn't know what was to come, and Blake had remained stoically tight-lipped about her expectations. Like everything else today she guessed it would be a surprise.

A gong reverberated through the air bringing a hush in its wake. A man walked onto the stage, a lute in his hands. Without further preamble he began to play. A lute wasn't a cello or even a violin. It was a simpler instrument, one that the Faunus had likely crafted with his own hands, but regardless of the quality of the lute, the music flowed from him.

His fingers danced over the strings, one note beginning before the last had even begun to fade away. He wove a song of such a staggering complexity that Yang found it was almost impossible to believe that he was alone.

And soon he wasn't. The music deserved accompaniment, and the extra instruments entered by ones and twos. There were drums, pipes, hollow sticks. They were all simple things, examples of some of the earliest instruments created, ones that would have been used by their ancestors, but they were all the more powerful because of it.

It was no carefully constructed symphony played in a pristine hall. Instead, under the stars and the moon, it was primal and Yang felt it to her core. There were no words, but there couldn't be, not when everyone had their own story of what they were celebrating. As Blake caught on to what was intended she began to tell Yang hers.

_In the beginning there was the sun and the moon. Dhai'mon was bright and brash, loud and boastful, while Allantheen was quieter, more reserved, she didn't scorch the surface beneath her through ostentatiousness._

_They were so different, but both had something in common. They looked upon the land below them and they knew longing. Allantheen saw great beauty in the world, but there was no one to experience it. The Grimm did not stop and stop and admire the crystalline waterfalls shimmering in her ethereal light, the creatures of the world that emerged into her sight had more pressing concerns than aesthetics._

_Allantheen knew there was more to life than survival. She knew that life was a blessing that needed to be held dear. In her moroseness she wept, and such was her passion that where her tears fell and mixed with the land the Faunus were born._

_Allantheen rejoiced. Her children spread out, and the world knew music, it knew laughter, it knew joy. In the light of their mother they hunted, and they offered their thanks to her._

_Even with the Grimm her children thrived. It was not to last. Dhai'mon grew jealous. Was he not the brighter one? The one more deserving of their worship? They should have been praising him, but whenever he rose Allantheen's children went to sleep. His anger was terrible, and from it came man._

_Dhai'mon didn't share the values of Allantheen. He didn't treasure beauty. He found no joy in an untouched forest. He only thought himself important. He made man's eyes weak so Allantheen's light wasn't bright enough. He made their ears and noses feeble so they had no choice but to live under his rule. And to spite Allantheen he made more of them, until they stretched from horizon to horizon._

_He expected them to honour him as Allantheen's children honoured her. He expected them to sing his praises and hold festivals in celebration. But he had forgotten that they were made in his image. They didn't praise him, they only praised themselves. They took his radiance and only thought it deserved. And when the Grimm attacked they cast the blame his way._

_From a distance he watched Allantheen's children thrive under her light, he watched them play and he watched them laugh. But most of all he watched them rejoice with her, while his offspring only took him for granted. Day after day he watched and his rage only grew._

_Until, it became too much. Until he could stand it no more. He leapt across the sky and sought to rid the world of Allantheen. The night that Allantheen's children loved so much became day, and all the animals of the world stood still._

_Allantheen was peaceful. She knew nothing of war, and she had lamented every cruel death at the hands of the Grimm or Dhai'mon's children. As her own prayed for her safety, what they saw left them horror-struck._

_In the cowardice of his unprovoked attack Dhai'mon had managed to sink his spear into Allantheen. Before their eyes she bled, and her drops of blood rained to the land below. As she lay wounded with Dhai'mon standing over her all her children prayed for what they were losing._

_It was in that single moment that Allantheen knew she couldn't give in. That she couldn't allow Dhai'mon dominion over her children. It was only her hand that truly shielded them from the humans and the Grimm. They needed her and she loved them._

_That love gave her strength. Even as she still bled, she stood, pulling the spear from her, and she showed Dhai'mon that there was more to life than brutality._

_It was then that Dhai'mon knew fear. He saw in her something that he knew he did not possess. He saw what it was to put aside your own well-being for another. He saw self-sacrifice and he fled from it._

_Since that time he has continued to run. Free from his tyranny Allantheen's children celebrated the life of their mother, even as they wished for her recovery. They left their homes and trekked across the land, seeking out their mother's blood, and wherever they found a piece they safeguarded it for a time when she would come to reclaim it._

_Allantheen had already given them many gifts over Dhai'mons children, but their dedication gave them strength. Those who had the honour of guarding the treasures did so with vehemence. They pushed back the Grimm, scared away Dhai'mons children, and they brought their music, their dance, their laughter. Their beauty to wherever they travelled._

_And on this day. When Allantheen is brightest. When she is closest to her children. We look up at our mother, and say thank you, for everything she has sacrificed for us._

Blake had timed the length of her story to perfection and she finished just before the peak of the music. In fact her tale had been so well told she'd gathered an audience larger than just Yang and herself. A number of those sitting nearby had turned to listen, including a young couple who may very well have heard the same story from their parents. But this was quite likely the first time their young son was celebrating the festival, for he was staring at Blake with wide enchanted eyes.

The memories of her own parents were obviously in Blake's mind as well for when she met the eyes of the little boy an unbearably sad expression broke out on her face. It seemed as if she were only a few moments from tears.

The agony of losing a parent was all too familiar to Yang. There was no cure, no remedy. Not really. But there were a few things that made it easier. She wrapped an arm around Blake and pulled her into an embrace.

As much as she'd promised not to think about it, as Blake wept silently against her shoulder, Yang couldn't help but recall the whole reason they were here. In Vale Blake had done things, made her do things, which would haunt her to her grave. That Blake was someone that Yang knew she would probably never be able to forgive.

There were moral codes that one simply should not cross. Things that separated them from the monsters, but Blake had paid no heed to them. If she had really fallen that far it would have been so easy to just walk away.

But she hadn't fallen that far. Not all of her. Blake had a way of compartmentalising herself. In the weeks they'd been in Vale she'd grown colder, more distant, but Yang could sense the other Blake was just beneath the surface. They were so separate they may as well have been two people. There was the Blake whose favourite pastime was quietly reading a book in front of a fireplace, and there was the Blake who would torture a man with scant regret.

Yang had watched as each day they spent in Vale, each time they went out on a mission, the former version was buried just a little bit deeper, but she hadn't been able to reach her. Not when every sight of Blake had made her sick to her stomach.

Today though, Yang had seen something that gave her hope. The Blake she's spent the day with was the one she'd met back at Beacon. Blake's recital had carried such feeling, such emotion there could be no doubt.

Yang was well aware it was naivety of the highest order to believe they weren't the same the person. Everyone had a good side and everyone had a darker one. It only depended which one was dominant. On this mission the side that had been in power had truly scared her.

It was one which Yang never wished to witness again. There was already far too much pain in the world without the person who was meant to be her best friend adding to it. It was selfish sure, but she didn't know if she had the strength to stick by Blake and guide her from that path if she decided to tread it again.

Right now Blake was there. The real Blake. The Blake who could feel. It would take time, a long time, but if Blake didn't regress back to who she'd been, Yang could forgive her for what she'd done to her.

Blake was a while in gathering herself. The beautiful music and the memories proving too much for her. The weight of her leaning against Yang was a reminder to both of them just how close they had once been.

Blake tried to apologise after wiping her eyes, but Yang just shushed her. There was no shame in shedding tears over a loved one, and if Blake was trying to apologise for the other things she'd done words weren't enough. In the end, only her actions would count.

The two of them sat on the grass as Allantheen sailed across the sky, listening to the concert and some of the other tales that were being told around them. It was a crime as great as any that so rich a culture as the Faunus possessed was repressed throughout the world.

Blake's tale had survived for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and judging by the corroboration from all around it was based on true events. Yang wondered if the scientists knew that there was so much evidence as to what had actually happened to the moon in the folklore of those who were rarely allowed into their ranks.

"Are there any more details on what actually wounded Allantheen?" Yang asked quietly.

"You don't think it was Dhai'mon?" There was the subtlest hint of a joke in her tone which spared Yang from the awkward moment of calling another's beliefs into question.

"Probably not." Just like earlier, after so long the banter was the slightest dab of soothing balm on an open wound.

"No probably not. It might be slightly farfetched for the sun to come and attack the moon." Yang could almost feel Blake's smile against her side. "To answer your question there's not much more, but everything supports an impact event. Even  _Dhai'mons_ appearance was likely just the energy released. It would have appeared as if the sun had risen again for a time to those without another explanation."

Yang grunted. Blake had recited the most widely accepted hypothesis, but now that she knew Blake was willing to talk through the details of the stories there was another thing that Yang had wanted to ask.

"Is that really what they thought of us?"

"What?"

"It sounded like they hated humans." Even back then, if that was really true? If humans and Faunus had been enemies for that long, was it any surprise that they were still fighting? She didn't believe in predetermined or genetically ingrained hate, but there must have been something there.

"I'm not sure, but probably not like you're thinking. At this point my ancestors were likely still nomadic. They would have moved around following the game, and avoiding the Grimm. Everything points to humans establishing settlements long before the Faunus. If they happened to compete for resources it's quite possible there would have been conflict, and while the Faunus had the natural advantage, humanity had the more advanced technology and the numbers. It's likely they forced the nomads out of the best territory, and that would only have bred resentment."

"Maybe." There was too much conflict in the world. Throughout history you would be hard-pressed to find a time of peace. It seemed it had been no better in the days of unwritten history. It was too sad a thought to dwell on and Yang was given a reprieve by a flash in the sky.

Everyone around her jumped, including Blake, and adrenaline coursed into her bloodstream as a sharp bang reached them. Yang swore when she connected the dots. For a city still recovering from the horrors of war, surprising them all with a firework was not a smart thing to do.

Several children all around burst into tears and Blake's muscles had gone solid with tension. Both of them had to breathe deeply and relax their Auras that had instinctively flared.

It was a stupid thing, and though a significant number headed out of the park, a larger majority stayed. On a warm night, in the light of the moon that they were here to celebrate, a pyrotechnic display was a good way to end the day's festivities.

Not long after, the fireworks and sparklers were joined by Dust as those in the White Fang who had an affinity for Dustcraft utilised the precious resource. Yang found the display somewhat lacking. The gouts of fire were small, the sculptures of ice and rock crude. They might have impressed civilians but for a huntress who'd trained with some of the best it wasn't impressive in the slightest.

She voiced that thought to Blake, a reflection of the lights dancing in her amber eyes. "They really should have got Velvet to do this."

Blake smiled, the same thought having crossed her mind. Velvet would have made the end of the night truly incredible. She would have been able to put on a display of Dustcraft that no one here would ever have forgotten.

"Do you ̶ ̶ "

A dragon plummeted from the sky. Unlike the costumes from before, this was the real thing. Its entire body glowed with scarlet fire, and it let out a deafening, crackling roar. Yang finally knew what a rabbit felt like when it spotted a pair of wings high above. There were Nevermores sure, they were amongst the most dangerous of the Grimm, but she knew how to fight them.

Her mind came up with no answers as to how to combat what was coming for her. It was simply colossal. Its head was larger than an apartment and its wingspan must have been able to stretch from one side of the park to the other. The creature awoke in her something that had previously lain untouched, a primal fear, and like everyone else her body froze as her mind attempted to comprehend the myth come to life.

The dragon continued to dive and it was only when it was nearly upon them did the urge for self-preservation force people to react. Screams rent the air and Yang jumped up, intent on doing something, anything.

It spread its wings wide, sending a shower of sparks cascading down like rain, and the dragon erupted. A thousand phoenixes burst from the smoke and fire that had formed its body. They darted back forth, weaving a dazzling tapestry of light in the air.

More mythological creatures of the air joined them. They all had a base in flame, but if they had wings and had appeared in a story at some point or another it was likely that they were there. Together they dove and twirled through the sky, lighting up the faces of the enraptured folk below.

Yang's mouth was open too. She'd wanted Velvet to put on a display, but this was far beyond even her exemplary skills. There had to be thousands of creatures above, maybe even tens of thousands. To create even one would have been beyond most Dust users, this many should have been beyond anyone.

As far as she knew there were only two people in the world capable of such a display. Ozpin and the pyromancer, Cinder. If what Torchwick said was true, she was behind it all. It was her who had allowed the White Fang the opportunity to seize control, but what she was seeing here only confirmed Yang's beliefs.

To them Cinder was untouchable. She was in another league. If one of those birds attacked Yang she'd likely be able to beat it. If even the tiniest fraction of them decided to all at once, her best chance would be to run. If weaponised the creations above would have been able to send armies fleeing.

But they weren't being weaponised. They were there to create memories. What everyone was seeing here would never fade from their minds. This was a display of Dustcraft that had not been observed for at least one generation and likely more.

Yang lay next to Blake and just absorbed it. Undoubtedly she'd made the connection between the birds and the person behind them too, but she didn't seem to have any intention of trying to find her.

For today, Cinder was using her talents to do something good. Something beautiful. Everyone watching would dream of what they'd witnessed and the children would likely talk about it for who knew how long?

Today had seen her and Blake perhaps take the first tentative step to recovering what they'd once had. The flourish above capped what had been an amazing day. Festivals were meant to be a time of joy, of bated breath and excitement, of laughter. For now, Yang was willing to put aside the fact that they were on opposing sides of a conflict.

Yang lay back with her head pillowed in her fingers. Just watching and thinking. War was truly horrific. It cast everything in a shade of darkness. She'd done and experienced things that would likely haunt her to her grave.

But even through war, life goes on, and it is only through life that war can truly be defeated. Life was in the air above her, it was in the smell of the grass, the taste of a delicacy, in the warmth of a friend's body.

In the past few weeks Blake had lost the desire for everything that made life worth living. But today at her side, Blake had experienced life once more.


	24. Chapter 24

Pyrrha had found it. She was sure. After weeks of relentless digging through all the data she'd copied from Enerdyne's regional headquarters. After weeks of cross-referencing numbers with bleary eyes, she was certain that the subtle financial differences led here. To a place that didn't exist. At least not on any map that was publically accessible.

Slogging through the data had been hard. To just sit staring at a computer screen while knowing that Jaune's murderers were still out there. Still plotting their nefarious schemes. And they  _were_  plotting something.

Once she'd learned what to look for, what accounts would eventually funnel the money and make it disappear, it was easy to see a pattern. In the last few months the cash flow had increased dramatically. Enerdyne was gearing up for something big, something which would be bad, and it was her responsibility to stop it.

Like hell was anyone else going to. Her attack on the office in the middle of the city was not something that Enerdyne could sweep under the carpet as they had done before. It wasn't surprising they wanted to; doing so many evil things they wouldn't want to give the police the opportunity to snoop around.

The fire and the casualties should have made the media question just what Enerdyne actually did. Just why did a pharmaceutical company needed so many guards? But Enerdyne owned the media too. Instead of exposes and members of the board getting arrested, the attack was labelled the work of terrorists with possible links to the White Fang. Where Enerdyne should only have received loathing, they instead received sympathy.

Why Enerdyne hadn't exposed her, Pyrrha didn't know. It was likely for their own benefit. She clearly wasn't linked with the White Fang, but that hadn't meant they'd stopped searching for her.

Their agents were everywhere. On every street corner. In every shop. All looking for someone who matched her description. Before all this, Enerdyne had been a company she'd heard of, but she'd never known they'd been this big. Their network of informants was enormous. It must have contained thousands at the very least. Even the SDC would have struggled to put as much manpower onto the streets as Enerdyne had.

There were just too many for her to avoid completely. Though she stuck to the shadows, only went out at night, they were always there. With their searching eyes. Despite her caution, on occasion one of the agents found her. But they didn't attack. Instead they pretended they hadn't seen her, and just went on with their  _business_.

Enerdyne was playing a larger game. One where they didn't want her captured. Not yet. But every time she got made they put her under increasing amounts of surveillance. Airships in the sky, infra-red cameras across the street from whichever apartment she broke into.

They were determined not to let her move without them knowing about it first. They might have succeeded against someone else, but she'd grown adept at slipping from their sights. All it took was a dark night and an overloaded transformer for her to escape.

Not that she could escape fully, not when she was tied to the area. Her childhood had been spent in gyms and arenas, not sitting in front of a screen. Though she could use technology to a reasonable extent, breaking into any of the encrypted files had been beyond her.

But not beyond some of the people who lived on the other side of the law. Gaining an inroad to the criminal underground had been difficult, but not impossible. In every city there seemed to be at least one person who could get you whatever you wanted as long as you knew where to look and asked nicely.

She had. She'd paid his extortionate fees and paid more when he'd said it was necessary, only for him to turn around and say that it couldn't be done. That was when she'd asked even more pleasantly. The information broker had been a lot more compliant when he'd seen first-hand just what the girl standing opposite him could do. With his security on the floor suddenly it was no longer impossible to break in to the files. Instead, it would just take some specialists, ones he would gladly pay for himself.

In the end he'd come through. The unencrypted files had been the key to unravelling the entire tapestry of threads that formed project  _Persephone_. There had been a lot more specific information about the project on the stolen hard drive, but those files were apparently too well-encrypted to access.

As it was though, the details behind the project to create Penny were largely a mystery to her; she'd at least been able to track down the facility where it occurred. To say it was in the middle of nowhere was to put it lightly. She'd abandoned her car at the closest location, and it had still taken her two freezing cold days to trek across the tundra until it came into her sights.

It was every inch a military compound. There were high fences, spotlights, and guard towers. Automated turrets, Paladins, and what looked suspiciously like a minefield. There wasn't even road access, only a landing pad for aircraft. And there were soldiers, lots of them, armed with assault weapons and wearing body armour.

The facility's defences would have been capable of holding off a brigade of the Atlesian military ̶ ̶ which would have been necessary if Enerdyne's evil plans were ever made public ̶ ̶ but it wasn't an army scout that had been observing them for the last forty eight hours. They were not that lucky.

Instead it had been Pyrrha and her attack came in a wave of fire.

The metal triggers of the mines on one side of the base tripped almost simultaneously. Tonnes of shrapnel, stones, and frozen soil were lifted into the sky. The concussive shockwaves coalesced and sent a visible ripple through the snowfall.

After so long spent guarding nothing, complacency had obviously set in. Those who had been on duty jumped and shielded their heads from the rain of debris. Any who had been sleeping fell out of bed as their barracks shook.

Pyrrha flew through the shrapnel like a Valkyrie. Her Semblance-enhanced jump sent her hurtling towards the northern most guard tower. At the peak of her leap she Pulled on the metal railings of the tower and her body lurched as it accelerated again. Her target was still attempting to recover his night vision from the explosions and only saw the shape hurtling towards him at the very last moment.

Pyrrha struck him with a two footed kick. If not for her Aura both her legs would have been shattered by the impact; as it was she hit him like a freight train. The sniper was thrown back with enough force to rip the railings from their moorings, sending him tumbling to the concrete below.

She Pushed again and flew into the air. As a child it had always been her dream to be able to fly. To soar amongst the clouds. Of course she tried, but though her Semblance could enable her to perform acrobatics that were beyond most of her peers, it hadn't ever had the raw strength that it needed. Now it did. The months of heavy exercise had honed it until true flight was but a hair's breadth away.

In the courtyard men and women in a varying state of dress were stumbling out of their barracks in response to the detonations and the alarms. It was too good an opportunity to ignore. Whilst directly above them Pyrrha ripped a pouch from belt and scattered its contents below her.

The hundreds of ball bearings would have been minor annoyances until she flared her Semblance and Pushed on all of them. The reactionary force was enough to cause her to gain a few metres of altitude, but with their lower mass they instead gained velocity.

If someone had detonated a cluster of anti-personnel mines the effect wouldn't have been all that different. The ball bearings hissed as they zipped through the snow and dozens of unprepared and unarmoured troops were scythed down.

But Pyrrha was past them before she saw the results of her actions. They hadn't been the real threat. Bullets were more or less meaningless to her now. They were barely a drain on her Aura. No, the only mild concern she'd had when sizing up the compound had been the Paladins.

They weren't designed to fight hunters, but if one got lucky with one of their high calibre weapons she was unsure if even she would be able to survive. It was something that couldn't happen. Not with Enerdyne still at large.

So while the majority of the soldiers were still rushing to reinforce the perimeter, unaware that their solitary attacker had managed to breach it in a matter of seconds, she was flying towards where the Paladins were stored.

True to protocol their pilots had rushed towards them. Three were already powering up but the last had lacked the lightning fast reactions of his colleagues. He was only clambering into the seat when she came into sight.

Pyrrha dropped towards them and to slow her descent she Pushed against the Paladin's open cockpit cover. The heavy metal door slammed shut not caring that its pilot's torso was in the way. Blood sprayed and severed legs twitched.

Her landing barely disturbed the flakes of snow on the concrete. Every day she was learning to judge the strength of her Pushes and Pulls even more, but it wasn't a time for reflection. She'd come down between the Paladins and she put her Semblance to work.

In Vale on that day that would be seared into her memory for as long as she lived, it had almost killed her to throw a single Paladin. But back then she hadn't been strong enough. That was why… Mind-crushing guilt almost brought her to her knees.

Pyrrha threw all her anguish into her Semblance. In the middle of the Paladins she was braced against two on one side and one on the other. As always the laws of physics were entirely unforgiving.

Her body was crushed between the colossal forces, but her Aura held. While the two Paladins only moved slightly, the lone mech crashed through the building behind it. A cloud of dust blossomed into the air. It likely wasn't disabled but it would be out of the fight for a while.

The tracking algorithms in the pilot's HUD had identified her as a hostile and though they might not have understood quite what was happening, they began firing. Huge armour-piercing rounds ripped chunks from the ground where Pyrrha had been only moments before.

She skidded to a halt. Their guns were every bit as dangerous as she'd feared they'd be. But worse every second they delayed her was a second in which the rest of the guards would be closing in. She may well have been one of the strongest fighters on the planet, but the odds were starting to become extremely long.

Her rage began to build. She couldn't let them win. She had to bring Enerdyne down. It was her responsibility because no one else was willing to. No one else could see what she could. They were wilfully ignorant of evil. She had to do it for the world. For Vale. For Jaune. He deserved this. He wanted this.

So she didn't flee from the mechs but instead faced them down. Waiting. Every time they aimed her body lurched to the side as she Pulled or Pushed on one of the nearby sources of metal. They began to rush their shots, as despite their tracking routines, they consistently missed. Finally, one decided to use its area suppression weaponry.

The pods on the Paladin's shoulder popped open revealing a score of missiles. They flared bright as their rocket engines ignited and their warheads armed an instant before Pyrrha ripped them apart. If there was any failing to her Semblance, it was she couldn't detect metal beneath metal. While in their covers the missiles had been immune, the moment they were exposed to the air they weren't.

The first premature detonation caused a ripple of subsequent explosions that sent sundered chunks of armour high into the air. A lance of white hot metal slammed against Pyrrha's stomach knocking her to the ground. Her Aura still held, somehow, but it had been too close. She needed to end this and quickly.

Even if her body might have cried out for more air, to stop in combat was to lose. That was what she'd always been taught. And she'd never been allowed to lose. So she leapt to her feet and flicked a shard at the Paladin.

It had been as disorientated as she had been as its sensors overloaded, and her attack struck one of the exposed stalks. She stayed in the blind zone as she closed, her feet light upon the ground, not slipping despite the snow, oil, and water.

The mech took an unguided swing at her and she ducked under it before finding what she'd been looking for. The locking mechanism for the cockpit was internal, but there was still an external protrusion, there had to be.

In her mind she zeroed in on that particular tiny piece of metal and used the Paladins weight to throw herself up into the air. After travelling a dozen feet she Pulled on it with all her might. Her body protested loudly as her velocity was reversed in an instant, but more importantly the lock snapped. Detecting the malfunction the explosive bolts activated and to keep the pilot from being trapped the door blew off.

Unfortunately for the pilot, his situation was not improved by the safety mechanism. The moment he was exposed a splinter of metal lodged itself in his throat. Pyrrha landed next to the hulk.  _Three down_.

It had taken her only a couple of moments to neutralise three military grade mechs and the last was beginning to extradite itself from the shattered building. The last thing the pilot expected to see were the discarded remnants of its three comrades and a teenage girl staring him down without the slightest trace of fear.

It was likely they'd all been briefed on just who might attack them, but they'd probably laughed. One person wouldn't be stupid enough, or capable enough to attack this base. There was enough firepower to kill a horde of Grimm. One person, even a huntress, the fight wouldn't last seconds. On the one hand they'd been right, it hadn't. Only their laughs had been misdirected. Staring down a teenaged girl was a twenty tonne armoured walker, it was the product of some of the greatest minds on the planet, and it hesitated.

Pyrrha advanced at a slow step. These were the people who'd killed Jaune. Who were allowing Enerdyne to carry out its nefarious plans. They deserved everything they got. She grimaced bracing herself. The Paladin raised its arms and Pyrrha peered down the maws of its guns.

She tore them off. Bracing on the hulks behind her it was easy. The bolts and welds sheared and the auto-reloading mechanisms spewed unfired rounds into the air. The Paladin started to retreat, she didn't let it. It tried to take a step and its leg froze an inch above the ground.

Metal groaned. It was true that Pyrrha didn't have the strength to destroy armoured plates; that would have been beyond her. But the Paladin wasn't solely formed of armoured plates, they were joints and joints were weaknesses.

Now that she had a little time she exerted herself. One by one the hinges began to deform from the immense sustained pressure. They twisted in ways they had never been tested for and the designs were found wanting. When they failed they failed catastrophically.

Piece by reinforced piece Pyrrha ripped the Paladin apart. Three of its limbs were thrown across the room and from its ruptured pipes oil and Dust mixed catastrophically. The conflagration engulfed the mech and Pyrrha had to raise an arm to shield her eyes.

With all four Paladins down the largest threats might have been dealt with, but the facility was by no means pacified. The shouts and pounding footsteps running towards the fire told her the rest of the soldiers had finally worked out where their aggressor was.

_Time to change that_. With the scattered remnants of Paladins she had everything she needed. The first squad rounding the corner was met with an arm. Not hers, but one of the mech's. The three tonne limb hit them and didn't slow in the slightest.

She didn't wait to see it stop, instead using her Semblance to send herself straight up. Wind whipped her crimson hair free and snow stung her eyes. She kept rising until the base spread out below her. From the bird's eye view she could see all the soldiers running back and forth like ants. They had no idea just what was happening to them. No training could have prepared them for this, for her.

With the range of her Semblance nearing its limit, Pyrrha slowed before falling. Despite her speed she was perfectly in control. She'd developed her landing strategy before her increase in strength, and in accordance landings had gone from manageable to simple.

One of the soldiers in the middle of the largest group was slammed flat as she transferred her momentum to his chest plate. No one could have expected an enemy to drop from the sky into their midst so it was perhaps understandable that they reacted slowly.

It was their last mistake. Metal flew away from Pyrrha, guns went off, fingers snapped, and then people began to die. To her anything and everything metal was a weapon. Rifles turned on their owners, magazines zipped through the air and crashed through Auras, and grenades went off. Their thumps were muffled by the bodies they were still attached to. In the end there was little finesse, only a maelstrom of glittering death.

After that, after dozens of their comrades had been slaughtered by an aggressor most had yet to see, the guards began to understand what their only chance of survival was. They ran. The survivors, some who hadn't even engaged her yet, took off. Outside of the fence there was the freezing cold and nearly endless tundra, but inside there was only death.

Pyrrha watched them flee and almost set after them. If she let them go they would only join up with Enerdyne again, they were an asset that Enerdyne could use. Or at least that was the reason she told herself, in reality she wanted to make them hurt like she was hurting. Make them fear the hunter in the night, and make them regret the culmination of their sorry lives.

But she didn't chase after them. Deep down inside of her, in a place that wasn't consumed by rage and grief, a small voice stopped her. And though she could now see through the constructs which were right and wrong, good and evil, she did listen. In the end she hadn't come for them; her objective was inside.

Her attack had only lasted a few short minutes but the facility had the appearance of a warzone. Most of the prefabricated buildings had been marked by either bullets or shrapnel. Acrid smoke mixed with the frigid air and brought moisture to her eyes. And that wasn't mentioning the bodies. So many bodies. Dozens and dozens of them. Trained men and women brought low by the power that was an unrestrained hunter.

Pyrrha stepped past the shattered corpses, the parts still leaking blood, and was forced to confront the reality of what she'd done. The girl she'd been would have been horrified. The woman she'd become found nothing. No horror, no despair, only a mind numbing emptiness of feeling. The sights just couldn't touch her anymore.

The main facility had gone into lockdown but, like so much these days, locks were only a mild inconvenience. The reception area was deserted. Just blaring alarms and empty seats. If there had been anybody on duty this late at night they'd clearly evacuated.

Pyrrha followed the signs on the walls. Her goal lay in the laboratories where the abomination that was Penny had been created. The sound of her boots echoed from the walls of the hallway. The noise was regular, unhurried. They were far enough out into the wilderness that she had time even if Enerdyne decided to fly more reinforcements in, not that it would matter to her.

She took the opportunity to look into the rooms either side. Most had windows along the corridor where people presumably could safely watch the scientists work. The things she saw did not improve her mood.

Where there should have been beakers, chemicals, computers, robotics, and all manner of things that would have been needed to create an android, there were only boxes and empty shelves. Enerdyne had been packing up. That was what they'd been loading onto the freighter aircraft as she watched. It set her blood boiling that the answers she was looking for may have very well slipped through her fingers once more.

In frustration and rage she threw out a hand, her Semblance crunching into the nearest metal object. The door to a janitor's closet was ripped from its hinges. Someone screamed. Screamed in absolute terror as their thin veneer of protection was torn away.

A woman was huddled on the floor inside flinching away as the door clattered into the shelves, sending cleaning supplies raining down on her. Instinctively Pyrrha flicked up a screwdriver and was about to send it hurtling at the woman when her migraine returned in full force. It had been almost constant in the last few weeks and only getting worse. She was sure Enerdyne has poisoned her at some point ̶ ̶ for a pharmaceutical company it wouldn't have been hard ̶ ̶ but she couldn't pity herself now. Pyrrha blinked through the pain.

The woman wasn't wearing a lab coat, she wasn't a scientist, but was quite possibly the receptionist. She was still part of the machine that was Enerdyne, she must have known about the crimes they were committing here, and yet something stayed Pyrrha's hand.

It was the look on the woman's face. In her life as a celebrity Pyrrha had believed she'd been on the receiving end of just about every emotion. Adulation, pride, respect, jealousy, and more. At Beacon she'd discovered another infinitely more powerful one, love. But she'd never expected to see the expression the woman was wearing directed at her.

It wasn't unfamiliar for her, she'd seen it dozens of times on that last day in Vale. It was the expression of someone as the Grimm reared up above them, fangs exposed and ready to go in for the kill. It was the expression of someone wanting desperately to cling onto life, yet knowing that they were powerless. It was the expression of someone knowing they would never kiss their child again, hold the hand of their partner, embrace their parents, watch a sunset over the cliffs, or do the hundred and one other things that made life so special.

And yet because of her, they had. Time and again, Akoúo had blocked the claws heading for yielding flesh and Miló had driven the Grimm back. She'd held out her hand and pulled the person to their shaking legs as they'd breathed in what would be ̶ ̶ despite the smoke and carnage ̶ ̶ the freshest breath of their lives.

To the woman huddling in the corner, she may as well have had glowing red eyes. The huntress that had once been inside of her, the one who had saved so many people that day even if she hadn't been able to save herself, looked on aghast.

That corpse had no power over her anymore, but the screwdriver fell to the floor. Her war was not over. It couldn't be over. It was all she knew. It was her only reason for living. There couldn't be bystanders, but at the nagging insistence of the part of her that had been destined for happiness she made an exception.

"Stay down." Her voice was rough after not speaking for days and the receptionist burst into tears.

Pyrrha kneaded her temples as she moved on. Bright lights flashing behind her eyes. She knew she was dying. Whatever poison Enedryne had used was leaching her strength. In the end death would be welcome. It was just necessary to make sure she died on her own terms, not theirs.

As she got deeper into the facility there were more signs of packing. It was unlikely they were just running from her, not when they'd still had that much security in place. Still that left the question as to why they were abandoning what seemed to be the perfect hideout?

But of the employees that must have worked here? There was still no sign. They might have all been hiding, or perhaps they'd already been reassigned. Pyrrha was beginning to believe that rooms devoid of life would be the norm until she found one that wasn't.

In a wide open space she saw five people waiting for her. She approached more cautiously. They were making no efforts to conceal themselves and all of them were looking directly at her. Four were familiar to her, or at least their type was. They were soldiers, wearing body armour, and likely carrying weapons. Pyrrha's attention didn't linger on them long, instead it was drawn to the person who was different.

From his position standing in front of the guards he was clearly their superior, although he didn't quite look like it. He was older than them, there was grey speckling his dark hair and even his lab coat looked worn. He watched her impassively.

Was it him? Was he the one behind it all? The lead scientist? The one who created  _her_? Was he the one with the blood of so many on his hands? Had her hunt finally come to an end?

As soon as she stepped into the room a door slid shut behind her, but it didn't bother her. It was trap, she knew that now, but traps only work when it captures prey. They obviously hadn't learned their lesson about just who she was.

"Hello Miss Nikos." The scientist spoke with a gravitas that seemed to transcend even his advanced age. It was a voice with millennia behind it. "I thought it was about time we met. My name is Joseph."

"Are you the one in charge?" Pyrrha didn't care what his name was or what he had to say to her, she just wanted her questions finally answered.

He smiled amused at her curt words. "That would be one way of putting it."

"Then you created Penny?"

His brow darkened, the humour disappearing. "I did not create her, though yes, she is my daughter."

_Daughter?_  What did he mean by that? Penny was a robot. Still it didn't matter to her. "Where is she?" So close to finally being able to end this, her ever present anger rose to the surface.

It didn't seem to faze Joseph at all. "She is somewhere safe."

"Where!" Pyrrha shouted taking a step forward.

"Somewhere where you will be unable to hurt her. She does not deserve your hostility."

"She killed Jaune!" The anguish ripped out from her.

An almost kind expression formed on his face. "I am well aware of the circumstances surrounding Mr Arc's death, but Penny was not in control of her actions. You must realise that. Even through your grief."

She couldn't. She simply couldn't. If she accepted that Penny might not have been fully responsible, then on whose shoulders would the weight of Jaune's death fall? There had only been one other person in that square.

"You may blame me for making a mistake, or you may blame the person who is truly responsible, but I will not allow you to blame my daughter. You are not the only one who is suffering."

"Where is she!" Pyrrha closed the distance by another step.

"She is recovering. She is getting treatment. Just like you should have been. Your parents are worried about you."

No… She couldn't afford to think about them. Not now. She wouldn't play his games. He was trying to distract her. Make her forget just why she was here.

"What would they think of you if they knew what you've done? You were hurting. I can understand. But how much damage have you caused? How many families have you ripped apart in your unjust crusade? Do you want to know?" He paused for a moment. "You deserve to. Not counting those you slaughtered here, one hundred and thirty eight.

"Think about that. They weren't evil. They were people. Parents. Because of you one hundred and twelve children had to suffer through the agony of losing a parent. Eighty four have lost the person they loved. Just like you did. You killed them for what?"

"But they were working for you!" It was the only rational she could hang onto. His cold logic was slicing through the numbness.

"And complicity is a death sentence?" he growled. "You would not be able to comprehend just how many times I have heard that reasoning in my life. It is wrong. It is the maxim of tyrants. But even if I accept your flawed view, most would not have heard of  _Project Persephone_. They would have died for reasons unknown to them. And you're incorrect; most didn't even work for Enerdyne.

"The guards here, elsewhere, the majority were Atlesian military. They didn't sign up to protect an 'evil corporation'. Instead they were drafted and were likely relieved when they got assigned to such a safe posting. How naïve they were."

"You're lying." He was trying to trick her.

"I'm not. It was part of our contract when we undertook military research. Enerdyne simply isn't big enough to sustain a security force that large."

"That's not true. You've been following me. I've seen your spies. They're everywhere."

"Pyrrha," he said sadly. "You're not well. I have no spies. If I knew where you were, don't you think I would have stopped this? You're paranoid. You need help."

She didn't. He was lying to protect himself. To protect Penny. He wouldn't admit to having spies everywhere, not when she could be recording him. He wasn't that stupid. She clung to that rational.

"Pyrrha, I want to give you a chance. I know the pain of losing someone. I know it more than perhaps anyone. I've been in your positon. Exactly. I know how guilt can fill every thought, every feeling, until there is nothing left except escaping into your rage. I've done things that make your crimes pale by comparison, but it never brought them back. No matter what you do, even if you kill me, Penny, and every person down to the janitor who sweeps this company's floors, you cannot bring Jaune back. He's gone."

Did he think she didn't know that? Did he think Jaune didn't haunt her every moment? That she didn't see him everywhere. Hear his voice when she tried to go to sleep. Meet with him in her dreams only for them to turn into nightmares when she was forced to wake. She knew he was gone. The agony of that knowledge had ripped her heart into a thousand pieces. She barely felt alive anymore. All she could do was to bring his killers to justice and hope it brought him peace.

"Where is Penny?" Pyrrha lunged for his coat intent on extracting the information any way possible. She had to end this, finally end this, but where her fingers expected to meet resistance they found none. Joseph's chest distorted as her hand swept through the most realistic hologram she'd ever encountered.

Joseph took a step back and his body reformed. "I'm not going to let you hurt her. I want to help you, but you have to be willing. Let these men take you into custody. They will treat you well, and we can see about making you better."

"Where!" It was all slipping away from her. She was in the exact place she'd been searching for, speaking to the guilty party behind it all, and he was out of her reach. The futility of the situation crushed her capability of rational thought. She only saw red.

Joseph shook his head in resignation at her almost screamed question and turned to the men behind him. "Achter, you know what to do. She's sick, try and keep her alive, but she's too dangerous to be allowed to leave."

"Yes sir." Achter nodded and as quickly as that Joseph disappeared. Pyrrha did scream then. She bent over and let the audible representation of her frustration and anguish echo off the hard white walls.

The leader of the soldiers made a hand signal and they formed a loose semi-circle around her.

"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to place your weapons on the ground."

The words bought her back. Not to sanity, that had been wilfully abandoned long ago, but to her purpose. They wanted to cage her, and after that who knew what. She couldn't let it happen. Joseph had escaped from her here, but she would find him. No force on this planet would stop her.

She straightened and the almost undefinable qualities that allowed people to sense when others weren't mentally stable drained from her. Her posture was proud and tall, just as it had been before any of her championship winning duels.

Her opponents sensed her will. They knew there would be a fight. They knew blood would be spilled and flesh would be rent, but like all combatants they trusted their own skills. They were hunters, trained, experienced hunters, against a teenager.

But they didn't underestimate her. They couldn't. Not after everything they'd seen her do. She had torn her way through squads of soldiers in less time than it took most to blink. They knew how skilled she was, how talented, she was a prodigy who could have achieved great things. Helped so many. Now she was nothing more than a murderer. One who needed to be stopped.

Pyrrha looked at her opponents and did underestimate them. Even hunters barely managed to slow her down anymore. She hadn't met her peer in tournaments and now she was so much stronger. While looking into the eyes of the leader she sent her Semblance questing out. What she found must have caused a visible reaction for the leader nodded slightly.

There was no metal. None. At all. The room was barren, but she'd thought she'd be able to find some, pipes in the walls, ducts in the ceiling, something to manipulate. The fingers of her Semblance had hit the solid walls and found themselves unable to pass through. The doors were shut behind and in front of her. The bars of her trap.

They had planned for this, and she'd arrogantly walked straight into it. The most surprising thing however was that she found no sources of metal on her opponents. Hunters used metal in their weapons. It was what made them so easy to fight. These ones had none.

From sheaths and scabbards they drew theirs. Polymer hilts, ceramic barrels, and blades made of pure Dust. That was unusual. Most infused metal with energized Dust powder when the time came to gain an advantage. Pure Dust weapons were rare; they shared the properties, but were so much more expensive, and so much more unsuited to hard fights. The last thing a hunter wanted was for their blade to break in the middle of a pack of Grimm.

The cons normally outweighed the pros, but not against her. They had removed almost every advantage she held in combat. It was why her parent's and tutors had always told her not to use her Semblance overtly. With it a secret she had an advantage in every match she had entered. It was what had made her untouchable, invincible.

But it wasn't the only thing. They might have believed they'd stripped away her power, that without her Semblance she would be helpless, but they were wrong. To her using her Semblance in that way had almost been like cheating. She'd done it to live up to her parents' lofty standards for her, but only in her hardest matches. In most she'd fought without her Semblance, to show herself she could beat people fairly.

She had, time and time again. So instead of displaying the expected fear she smiled and did something she hadn't done in what felt like an age. She drew Miló and Akoúo in anger and dropped into a battle ready stance.

Her opponents readied themselves. Four on one wasn't exactly an unknown proposition for her. When no one in the class was even close to her peer, increasing the number of opponents was the only way that her teachers had had of testing her. Most of the time even two on one had been easy.

The one thing she'd taken away from those bouts was simple. She had to be the one in control. It was true of all fights, but when outnumbered it was vital. When controlling the pace of combat it wasn't four on one, it was a series of one of ones. If she faltered, if she did what most would do and retreated, putting her back against the wall, the initiative would be theirs. As good as she was, no one could block four attacks at once.

Her opponents had planned all this and they'd chosen their weapons well. Two had composite shields and swords that almost glowed. They would try and pin her down, absorb her attacks, while the other two capitalised. The only blond soldier had a nihonto, when he attacked he would be able to neutralise the advantage in reach she normally had with Miló, not to mention the curved red blade would be able to get at her around Akoúo. The last had a shotgun, he would exploit any openings she offered, but it didn't seem to have a second form.

"It doesn't have to be this way." Achter said from behind his shield. Pyrrha knew it did. If she surrendered at best they would kill her and her agony would finally end. But Enerdyne wouldn't give her that easy a way out. Most likely they would torture her or, even worse, involve her in their plans somehow.

"Just put down your ̶ ̶ "

Pyrrha didn't let Achter finish, instead in a blur of motion she leapt forward. He hadn't expected it. She attacked his off-side. It should have been his strongest with how it was protected by his shield, but she was past him almost before he realised it. He hadn't been her real target. The nihonto-wielding soldier was. At range the long reach of his weapon would have given him an advantage. Up close it was a liability.

She caught his desperate swing on Akoúo and as Dust met tempered metal lightning crackled. With a Dust blade every attack had the potential to be deadly. Where there might normally be sparks of metal instead the clash was enough to release some of the latent energy in the crystals. Pyrrha ignored the heat and drove Miló home.

Outnumbered four to one there was no time for finesse. No opportunity to fight defensively. She had to even the odds as quickly as possible, and that meant taking risks. She launched a flurry of attacks, knowing that the rest of them would be closing in on her, but she had to deplete as much of his Aura as she could.

Pyrrha left it until the last possible moment to back off. She cut it close. Too close. In normal circumstances she would have been fine. Out of the periphery of her vision she saw the blade lancing for her and instinctively she Pushed against it, but there was nothing for her Semblance to latch onto.

Where its course would normally have been diverted to miss her by a hairsbreadth it instead licked her side. It wasn't a hard blow, it bounced from her Aura, but it was a reminder of just how vulnerable she was.

Pyrrha span from away from the follow up, parrying a blow from the other direction, and slipped between the two shields to gain herself a bit of space. That was another mistake.

The shotgun boomed and Akoúo sent reverberations up her arm. It wasn't shot of course; they weren't that stupid. Instead the gunner was using Dust rounds. Shards of ice and stone splintered as they hit her shield. He fired again and all Pyrrha could do to get out of his line of sight was to head back towards his teammates.

They seized the initiative. As much as she tried to keep moving, stop herself from being encircled, it was too difficult. They acted as one. She wouldn't have been surprised to learn they were one of the few teams that had stayed together since their school days. They were just too in sync. The shield bearers would tie her down, harrying her from either side only for the blond soldier to make use of his extended reach to strike her.

Pyrrha began to feel something else in the maelstrom of guilt, anger, and hurt. She felt anxious. Not for herself, she had long since abandoned any hope for the rest of her life, but that they would defeat her and in doing so stop her from ending Enerdyne.

They had just planned this too well. They'd robbed her of her greatest advantage. They'd chosen their weapons to make her conform to their plans, and they outnumbered her. Pyrrha was learning that there was a chasm of difference between fighting three or four other students, and fighting a honed team of hunters who had likely been doing this for longer than she was alive.

Just Achter alone would have given her trouble. In a tournament her chances of progressing would have been good, but it wouldn't have been over in seconds. With multiple opponents their blades were beginning to strike home.

For someone who had come to believe herself so versed in all the different nuances of pain getting struck by pure Dust blades was a novel experience. It almost seemed to transcend physical discomfort. There was the normal impact, but then there was more. The Dust strained her Aura over a much larger area. That was the reason why people used Dust infused weapons; they hit so much harder and the pure Dust blades hit harder still.

If not for the exertion she'd been putting her Aura through recently, it almost certainly would have failed already. As it was it was getting close. If this fight continued to remain one of attrition, she would lose. Everything was simply too much in their favour.

Pyrrha began to take more chances. Wherever there was an opening she took it; no matter if it left her vulnerable. Miló was a blur as it transitioned between its forms. As a spear it had the reach over the shield wielders, and when they rushed her its sword form parried their blades.

Every time that happened more energy blossomed into the air until her hairs began to stand on end. As the formed Dust was forced to endure more and more stress, each hit caused just a slightly larger fracture. In quick succession Miló was subjected to freezing cold and searing heat but it didn't taste blood. Not when she was on the back foot. Pyrrha settled on a plan that any other time she would have rejected. They had feared her enough to set up this trap. It was time to show them that they were right to be afraid.

Pyrrha threw Akoúo. The heavy metal disk was propelled by her Semblance and slammed into Achter's chest, but her continued Push knocked him to the floor just as it boosted her in the opposite direction.

She was past the other shield bearer in an instant, but her direction hadn't been random. Her leap took her straight towards the one who had so far stayed out of the combat. The hunter with the shotgun.

Pyrrha saw the whites of his eyes as he realised her intention and he only just managed to squeeze the trigger. She knew it had been coming, without Akoúo she was defenceless, but her strategy had to change. The cone of ice and rock tore through her armour and then into her Aura.

In the midst of combat it was impossible to tell just what the damage was. It might have breached her Aura, the blossoming pain might have been indicative of something more, but she gritted her teeth and swore to make it count.

The gunner only got one shot off before she was close enough. Miló knocked the barrel aside and with the strength of both her arms she reversed the swing sending it into his neck. It was a brutal, vicious attack. His head snapped to the side.

Miló hadn't cut him but the blunt impact caused his gun to fall from his nerveless fingers. Pyrrha caught it in one hand. She aligned the barrel with his head as he fell and pulled the trigger. The gun bucked, smoke bloomed, and a skull burst. From point blank range few Auras would have been able to sustain such a hit. The gunner's couldn't. A cry rent the air.

_One down._  The gore didn't faze Pyrrha, only the result. They had arrayed everything they had against her and it just wasn't enough. But there was no time to celebrate. The other three were charging at her and with the fall of their friend there was only one emotion on their faces.

Miló barked repeatedly to slow them down as Pyrrha waited for Akoúo to come back to her. Her arm slipped into its straps just in time to block a blow. There was no hesitation in her attackers' movements. They only wanted one thing now.

But their anger made them vulnerable. No longer did they work as a seamless unit and her movement was no longer corralled. Not that it was easier. She'd killed the gunner, but it had come with a price. Warmth was seeping down her leg. If there was shrapnel in the wound even her Aura would be unable to heal her until it was cleared. With the injury beneath her twisted breastplate she didn't have the opportunity.

Instead, she was forced to defend herself frantically. Her opponents hacked at her with wild abandon. Against a lone challenger it would have made them easy pickings, but whenever she struck back and caught a second blade with Akoúo the third invariably found her. She was taking a heavy toll on her opponents but the reverse was also true.

Something blinded her. An immense flash seared down the nerves behind her eyes and overloaded them. In the whiteness someone punched her.

Or at least that was the nearest sensation. But a punch wouldn't have left her weak. It wouldn't have robbed her of her strength. Miló and Akoúo, her two most prized possessions, were almost unbearably heavy. Pyrrha felt warm and she felt cold.

She sank to her knees as her eyes began to clear. She'd fought for long enough to understand what had happened. One of them had brought their Semblance into play at the opportune moment. Why they hadn't done it before she wasn't sure, but it had given them an unopposed second.

As the room became more than a blur she let Miló rest against her shoulder and touched the source of her weakness. Above her greaves, on the unprotected portion of her thigh, her skin was rent. It should have hurt as her fingers probed the area. It didn't. The Dust blade had seared the nerves from her skin, but it hadn't cauterised her artery. She knew what the regular rhythm of the squirts meant. It was over. Finally over.

Some part of her mind was crying out in fear, but she was just relieved. There would be no more pain. No more suffering. She could fade into abyss of eternity. She would finally know peace.

"You killed a good man today." Achter's voice shook with rage. "You've killed a lot of good people. I think this is what Das would want." The blonde haired soldier turned Das' shotgun on her. The maw of the barrel was cavernous and Pyrrha closed her eyes.

Jaune was there. As he so often was. Just behind her eyelids. Not as she'd last seen him, but how he had been in the morning. On the cliff overlooking the sea, eating his specially prepared breakfast, and laughing. Always laughing. This was the Jaune that she had fallen in love with. That so many had been honoured to call their friend. He was a good man. A truly good man. He would help anybody, do anything to try and live up to his ideals. Time and again he had thrown himself into combat to save people even when he had been pushed past his limits. In Vale he had been the hero he'd always desired to be.

And they had stolen him from the world. No one would ever again hear him laugh. No one would ever again hear him tell a joke. No one would ever have him save them. Because of them. Penny, Joseph, Enerdyne, and all those who supported them. And because of her. Because she hadn't been strong enough. Just as she hadn't been strong enough here.

Jaune had died because of her weakness, and now his killers would go free while Jaune's memory faded from the world. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. He deserved more.

She'd made a promise to herself never to be that weak again. Never to be beaten. And she was breaking that promise. She was meekly accepting her fate, accepting that she wasn't good enough, and in that she was disgracing Jaune's memory.

That was the one thing she couldn't do. Jaune. He was everything to her, even in death. He wouldn't want her to die on a hard floor. If he were here he would tell her to stand up, to carry on, until she'd achieved her goals. All she needed to find was the strength.

And buried within her she found it. In that place that all people had in them. The one that was very rarely touched. In the place that gave mothers the strength to lift cars off their children, the place that allowed a father to flee from the Grimm while carrying his entire family, a dam burst.

It wasn't an Aura healing. It couldn't be called that. An Aura healing just sped up the body's normal process. This was so much more. From tranquillity and acceptance Pyrrha transcended into agony. The wound in her leg pushed out the scabs, her nerves regrew, her skin knitted. The wound in her side sealed until it was plugged only by the debris. Her muscles shed the built up acid in moments and lightning took its place. She'd never felt so alive.

Someone swore. A trigger was pulled. And Pyrrha opened her eyes.

Smoke hung in the air. The barrel a few inches from her face and shards tumbled to the floor. All of her would be killers' mouths were open. Far from feeling like she'd just taken a hit that should have killed her, Pyrrha felt like she just stepped into a gym. Her Aura was so invigorated the pressure of it pushed against her eyes.

As the hunters began to recover her Semblance quested and for the first time found metal. Earlier in the fight she'd emptied Miló's magazine. The spent rounds had been ignored by her opponents in the melee. They didn't have enough mass to be deadly so she'd been saving them to give her the advantage when she needed it. The time had come.

She hadn't believed they would be effective weapons, but that was when she'd been tired, wounded, not filled by purpose. Her Aura cascaded into the channel she created and a cacophony of sonic booms rent the air. The effect of her supercharged Pull was dramatic.

The cluster of metal struck the blonde hunter in the back and transferred enough momentum that he was thrown past her. Blood splattered to the floor.  _Two._

Pyrrha surged upwards. Her feet barely touched the ground. The shield bearer only just manged to block her swing with his blue sword but he couldn't have predicted the strength behind it. No one could have.

Metal met Dust again, only this time Dust shattered. In a great cloud of suddenly condensed water the temperature plummeted. That was why pure Dust weapons hadn't caught on. They were too brittle to sustain numerous impacts. One time they would fail, and invariably that would lead to disaster.

Both of them were tested as their sweat turned to ice, but Pyrrha powered through it. Akoúo followed in Miló's wake. The arm still bearing the hilt of the ruined sword snapped under the edge of the heavy metal. Miló danced in again and came away red.  _Three_.

Her visibility was reduced to nothing in the mist, but she knew where the last was. She could hear his breathing. To him she must have appeared like a creature of legend as she strode from the sphere of cold, her crimson hair flowing behind her.

Achter took a step back. He'd seen her shake off a mortal wound, sustain a shot to the head that should have killed her, move almost faster than he could track. He'd seen her take on armies single handed and come away victorious, rip through units without moving a muscle, tear military grade mechs to pieces.

She wasn't a hunter. He was  _one_ , had spent his entire life around them. They were not the almost mythological fighters that the civilians made them out to be. Not even they were that powerful. She was impossible.

"What are you?" His voice shook as he backed away.

Pyrrha thought about the question as she let Akoúo fall to the floor and it slid away from her.  _What was she?_ Really? Her brush with mortality had forced her to reassess her motives. Before she'd solely been driven by the pain, now, even though that still consumed her in its heart-wrenching entirety, there was something else. Something more. Akoúo hit the wall behind her.

"I am justice."

Pyrrha flipped Miló, caught it in an overhand grip, and threw her javelin. At the same time she Pushed on both it and Akoúo. Normally she would have to temper a Semblance-enhanced throw with caution. Too much and the reaction would throw her off balance. But braced against Akoúo the entirety of her strength was transferred to Miló.

It became a single streak. Achter didn't have the chance to raise his shield. Not that it would have mattered. Like his breastplate it may as well have been made of paper. Miló passed straight through, through his chest and out the other side until it ended up with half its length buried in the wall. _Four_.

That was the best of them. If there was any more security in the facility they would have been here. It had been close. She'd almost let Jaune down again, but she hadn't. With her free hands she dug the shards of ice and stone out of her side. It hurt, but her life solely consisted of pain these days. The moment the obstructions were free her skin sealed.

It was almost unbelievable to her that she'd just fought for her life. She felt so fresh. Her muscles still shook with unreleased energy. She put them to use as she ripped Miló from where it was buried. Achter had been right. She was different. Something more. She knew what she was fighting for. For the memory of the person who she loved.

She dug Miló beneath the covered door control panel and ripped it clear. It wasn't even locked. They'd been that confident. That misguided. Pyrrha strode deeper into the facility. She knew that neither Joseph or Penny would be here, but it was still worth looking.

And at the end of the corridor she found something. Something that managed to shake even someone who'd been expecting the very worst to the core.

 


	25. Chapter 25

"Ow!" Ruby squirmed in her seat as a hairpin caught on her scalp.

"Sorry," Hazel said through the pins in between her lips while massaging the offending area. "Anyway I thought huntresses were meant to be tough. You know, stopping bullets and things." She didn't quite manage to keep some of the wonder out of her voice.

"Yeah bullets, but not… pokey things." Ruby hadn't thought that she'd need her Aura up while getting ready for yet another ball. Though it wasn't just another ball, this time she wouldn't be going alone.

Hazel laughed. It was such an easy-going and infectious one Ruby couldn't help but join in. Despite how Hazel was literally being paid to be here, and the age difference, she liked to think they were friends. There wasn't much else to do than talk in the time it took to get ready.

"Well I'll try to avoid any more incidents with pokey things in the future. Ahh, Miss Schnee we'll be a few more minutes."

Ruby glanced up from her lap and caught Weiss' reflection in the mirror. It took her breath away. Weiss was stunning. Truly stunning. It was often an overused word to describe someone, but it fit. The sight of Weiss in that gown caused her entire world to come grinding to a halt.

"That's quite alright. It doesn't pay to arrive early, and please call me Weiss." Weiss slinked her way towards them. That was the only way Ruby could think to label how Weiss just moved. She swore that Weiss was exaggerating the way her hips swayed from side to side just to make the thoughts that shouldn't be said in polite company come to the front of her mind.

Ruby was left wishing that Hazel wasn't there and that they didn't have plans for the rest of the evening. She could think of much better ones. Ones that didn't involve quite so many layers of clothing.

"I do believe that is what fashion dictates Ms… Weiss." Hazel still said the name hesitantly, as if she expected the act of address the Schnee heiress so casually to come back and bite her.

Weiss smiled and sat down. Ok now she was definitely doing that deliberately. Weiss could have chosen any chair in the room, instead she'd chosen to sit with the last rays of the sun caressing her ivory skin. In the edge of the mirror Ruby could see her perfectly silhouetted against the backdrop of Atlas.

She could see every smooth line of the face she so loved. The cute nose, the pert and ever so inviting lips, her delicate jaw, and her long neck left bare by her hair drawn over her other shoulder. Her sitting like that caused Ruby to shift uncomfortably in her own chair earning a few more jabs with pins. There was no way Weiss' alluring posture was an accident, she was teasing her and it was completely unfair.

Hazel was true to her word and a few minutes later she tapped Ruby on the shoulder. "As usual you look great Ruby. Will either of you require anything else?"

Ruby shook her head. She was done, and of course Weiss didn't need assistance. Using whatever magical and sexy powers she possessed she'd not only managed to somehow put on a ball gown by herself, but made herself look like that in the process. Some people just got everything in life and Weiss was one of them.

"No we won't. You've done a brilliant job." Weiss spoke whilst studying Ruby and from the look in her eyes she appreciated what she saw.

Hazel might have been wearing jeans, but she performed a slight imitation of a curtsey anyway. "Thank you. It's all in the service though."

"I doubt you usually fly all over Atlas as part of your normal service."

Hazel blushed. She might have been older than Weiss, but Weiss had far more gravitas. "Well no. But I've enjoyed it. And it's not like I've had any other chances to be flown around in a private jet, or stay in five-star hotels."

"Perhaps but I still think you deserve something extra for your dedication. I know how much Ruby has appreciated you helping her." Weiss passed her something for her purse. "A little show of our gratitude," she added with a smile.

Ruby's mouth fell open with Hazel's. The tip was anything but little. There must have been several months of pay there if not more. To Weiss it might not have been a lot of money, to almost anyone else it was.

It certainly was to Hazel. Her hands were trembling as she disbelievingly fanned the notes out before her. Ruby knew she deserved it though. Hazel had performed miracles to get her looking even half as good as she did, and she'd done it all with a smile.

Hazel didn't appear to know quite how to cope with the gesture. She went from shock to bouncing excitedly from foot to foot, to finally throwing herself at Weiss in a complete breach of normal protocol.

If not for Weiss being a huntress she might have been knocked from her feet. However her sense of balance which served her so well on the battlefield served her well here. Not that she knew how to deal with Hazel's hug of course.

Since their time at Beacon, though Weiss might have opened up significantly to their friends, normal public interactions were still a mystery to her. If they weren't she would have done more than stiffly stand there as Hazel cried onto her shoulder.

They were still working on it, but it pleased Ruby to see Weiss finally catch on to what she was meant to do and hug Hazel back. Ruby decided to join in even if it risked her appearance.

The group hug lasted until Hazel seemed to come to her senses and realise just who she was hugging. If it had been a Beowolf she couldn't have extracted herself faster.

"Ms Schnee… Please forgive me. I… I don't know what came over me." She wiped her eyes hurriedly, fear in her voice.

"Hazel it's fine. There's no harm done. Though once again please call me Weiss."

"Sorry."

"And stop apologising, you haven't done anything wrong."

"Yes Weiss and thank you," Hazel's gushing gratitude to what Weiss deemed appropriate payment for services rendered was beginning to cause a smudge of crimson to show through Weiss' foundation.

Ruby decided to save her from any further embarrassment of her largess. She hugged Hazel. Despite the times she'd been certain Hazel had been trying to cause her death by asphyxiation, her own appreciation for everything Hazel had done was probably greater than Weiss'.

"So what are you going to spend it on?" Ruby asked when they broke apart, ignoring Hazel as she set about restoring the few dislodged strands of hair that had been her last hours labour.

"To be honest I'm not sure. It's just so much." Weiss turned away slightly. "My boyfriend and I have been thinking about looking for a new apartment. We might actually be able to afford the deposit to buy rather than rent now." Hazel stared off into the distance as the newly realized dream swirled through her mind.

"Well whatever you decide, you can tell me all about it next time." Ruby had an uncomfortable thought. "That is of course, if you still want to help next week?"

"Of course I do! I'll be here right on time," Hazel checked her watch, "But speaking of time, it appears you two are going to be fashionably late, and unless you need anything else I should get going too."

Weiss shook her head and all three of them made their goodbyes. Ruby waited until the door softly clicked shut before turning to Weiss. "That was an incredibly kind thing you just did. You've made her entire month."

Weiss blushed deeper. "It was nothing."

"It wasn't  _nothing_. You might not realise it, and it's not your fault, but to someone like her it opened so many opportunities. She didn't ask for it, and she did everything without expecting it. You know what some of the people I've met at the balls are like… Do you think they would have done it? You're different from them. You've always been different. You might act frosty on the outside, but inside you're so kind Weiss." It was the best compliment she could come up with. In all honesty she wouldn't have Weiss any other way.

"Stop…" Weiss' voice caught in her throat.

Ruby didn't give her a reprieve. "Hazel's incredibly grateful for you and I am too. I wanted to give you something to show it." She pulled a wrapped rectangular package from beneath some of her folded clothes in a drawer. "I know how much you've hated me attending these by myself. I have too. I've always wanted to have you by my side. We might not be able to go public yet, but we know how special it would have been. You didn't get to see me attend my first ball, so I wanted to give you a memory of it. Open it."

Weiss turned the present over in her hands. Before Beacon, Ruby doubted that Weiss had ever received that many gifts. It was hard to imagine her, Winter, and Lord Schnee celebrating holidays like normal people. Very carefully, Weiss pulled off the tape.

Ruby's gift was a picture in a simple light blue frame. It was a photo of her. Normally the saying that the camera adds ten pounds proved only too true in her opinion, but not for this one. It was a photo that Hazel had taken on the night of her very first ball.

In front of sparkling cityscape of Atlas, the Eiszapfen rising tall into the air, her beautiful gown, her hair alive and glowing, she could have been a movie star. When she'd actually had the opportunity to look through the numerous photos Hazel had taken, she'd be blown away by how good she looked. Weiss had missed it at the time, but thanks to Hazel's thoughtfulness it had been captured forever.

"Ruby…" Weiss stammered. "I… I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything." Weiss was on the verge of tears. Though no one was meant to take pleasure from the emotional distress of their friends, Ruby did. If there was ever a confirmation of just how much she meant to Weiss, it was her being reduced to this state from such a simple gesture.

Ruby leant down and kissed her softly. The tender brush proved the trigger. The makeup at the edge of Weiss' eyes began to run. Much to her displeasure.

"This… this is your fault." She said still overcome with emotion as she attempted to dab at her tears.

Ruby smiled as plucked a handkerchief from down the front of her dress. "I'll accept that." Resting a hand on Weiss' cheek she took over attempting to protect Weiss' delicately applied makeup.

"You can't just spring something like this one me." The return of her more authoritative nature indicated the beginning of her recovery.

"Why ever not?" There were many rules in the world, but she was pretty sure surprising your girlfriend wasn't on the prohibited list.

"Because… because…" Weiss gave up and gestured at herself before fanning her eyes with her hands to try and keep them dry.

No one else in the entire world would ever even imagine the heiress to the Schnee fortune being this flustered, and Weiss wouldn't have allowed anyone else to see her in this state. Ruby got to see so many different sides of Weiss, ones that were never presented in the public eye. She was well aware of just how incredibly lucky her circumstances were.

"Because it lets me to show you just how much you mean to me?" Ruby finished Weiss' sentence.

"It's not fair."

"Nope, but what are you going to do? You're not the queen of the world." Though as a Schnee some might have considered her to be as good as. "You can't stop me." Ruby smiled playfully.

"But I never do things like this for you." The guilt in her tone was palpable.

Ruby put her foot down. "That's not true. That's not true in the slightest. You do so much for me. More than you could possibly know. You make me feel like the most special person in the world. You honestly couldn't do more."

Ruby had no ideas just why Weiss seemed to be so emotional today. Her latest heartfelt words prompted Weiss to start fanning her eyes rapidly again. Most said Weiss was like her father, cold and distant, but they didn't know the real Weiss.

"I think it's a lost cause," Ruby said peering in close at Weiss' face. "Sorry."

"You should be. Now we're going to be really late."

"Don't worry, I've heard it's fashionable."

* * *

 

Thanks to the makeup incident they arrived past the point that was considered fashionably late, and had moved into downright tardiness. It was totally worth it though. Ruby had thought that Weiss might have thanked her before setting the photo to one side; she never would have expected all that. No matter what happened this evening, nothing would top the warmth in her chest that came as a result of making Weiss happy.

Having been to a couple of balls before, it was all getting rather familiar. The ordeal of getting dressed, the wait in the queue of expensive cars, the nerves, and the excitement. She was expecting the usual scenario when she left the car. Everyone in sight turning on her with the intensity of a spotlight, analysing every little facet of her appearance, comparing it against the ever-changing database of what was considered fashionable.

Ruby wasn't all that worried about that. To her the dictates of style might be ethereal, but Hazel and the rest of the staff at the shop surely had their fingers on the pulse. She'd done this before, but there had never been a Schnee by her side.

The difference Weiss' presence made was significant. It started with the servants who helped them from the vehicle. They were respectful to all their guests, but a Schnee warranted more. Weiss got a full bow from every servant as she passed.

Weiss didn't deign to notice them. Instead she glanced back once to ensure that Ruby was behind her before striding ahead, her spine perfectly straight. The ripple of respect was not limited to the servants either. None of the nobles bowed at the waist but they nodded their heads or curtseyed slightly, even if some didn't want to.

Courtesy cost them nothing. Earning a Schnee's animosity almost certainly would.

There was none of the gossip. No appraising her dress or hair. Instead most of the chatter died. Most, but not all.

"Ruby," someone positively squealed as a ball of lace grasped her arm. "It's so good to see you. What have you been you doing with yourself? And you look fabulous. You must tell me where you bought your dress? And your hair; it's gorgeous. Who's your stylist? I'll have to pay them a visit."

Ruby barely managed to keep up with the deluge of questions. What she'd never gotten used to was the way the ladies here talked. She supposed it stemmed from her lack of participation in cliques at school; she had never been at the centre of one.

Ruby tried to connect the face with the name. "Hi… Amethystine," she said praying she'd got it right. Thankfully there was no embarrassing correction. "I've been good."

"That's just marvellous. You simply must meet up with us girls tomorrow. Oh…" They almost bumped into Weiss as she halted her purposeful stride. "I'd almost forgotten you know Weiss. It's great to see you again. Don't you think Ruby is just the best?"

"Good evening Amethystine." Weiss said coolly with a raised eyebrow.

"We've been simply inseparable. Isn't that right Ruby?"

"Uhh… sure."

"See we're pretty much best friends. Ruby's told me all about you."

That admission caused Ruby to start. She certainly hadn't! In their brief conversations they'd barely touched on Weiss. Most of what Amethystine said so far had been a gross exaggeration, and she didn't seem like slowing down.

"I think it's so incredible that you're both huntresses. It would be great if we could all go shopping some time."

Weiss' reply failed to quite live up to the enthusiasm of the request. "As pleasant as that sounds, I don't believe that my schedule would allow for it."

"Oh I'm sure you're completely snowed under." Amethystine laughed at her own joke and Ruby gave her a quick smile. "I am too. It's getting into the busiest season. That might actually be where we are able to help each other. I know how satisfied the SDC is with the services we provide, and I think this would be an opportune time to increase their scope."

Just like that, Ruby was excluded from the conversation. At the very start Winter and Weiss had both told her that people would view her as a gateway to the Schnees. She'd known it was true from the number of questions that she had to field about Weiss, but it had been her belief that maybe some had sought her out again just for her. Now she wasn't so sure. She'd made some friends here, though how many more were just using her?

Weiss nodded politely as Amethystine explained her proposal. For someone who knew her so well, Ruby could see that she wasn't really paying attention. It put Weiss' position in the noble hierarchy into perspective. They'd only been present a minute before Weiss had been ambushed.

Eventually Weiss used one of the rare breaks in the torrent of words pouring from Amethystine. "I think your proposal has merit. Sadly it falls under the remit of Winter's authority, not mine. You will have to discuss it with her, I believe that she is in attendance. Now, if you will excuse us, I am famished. It's been pleasant talking with you."

Weiss left Amethystine standing there as she headed for the side of the hall where the tables had been arranged. Not that Weiss made it. She was intercepted two more times before she actually managed to take the weight off her feet. Ruby sat down next to her. She was beginning to get a better understanding of why Weiss disliked balls so much. To Ruby they may have been filled with dancing and casual conversation, but to Weiss they were just more work.

"Is it always like this?" she asked after a servant had taken their orders.

Weiss sipped on her glass of sparkling wine as she crafted a reply. "I suppose so. It wasn't so much when I was younger. Back then I was just a consolation prize if they couldn't get hold of my father or Winter. Now that I'm working at the Eiszapfen though, everyone believes that I can push their deals through. It's going to be worse tonight since Winter and I have been absent from the last couple. I'll have to leave you on your own later to meet some people."

"Do deals really get done here? I know people talk about it a lot, but don't you need lawyers and things?"

Weiss smiled. "I don't exactly have contracts stuffed down the front of my dress if that's what you're asking." Weiss smiled. "Though I wouldn't put it past some people. You're right, we don't sign on the dotted line, but here someone can approach me without having to go through layers of bureaucracy. They can make a proposal that would never have made it to my desk. Sometimes it's beneficial. Most of the time it isn't."

Their late arrival meant that the majority of the tables around them had already been cleared of chinaware and were instead playing host to those who had either decided not to dance or were recovering from their exertion. As Ruby tuned into each of the conservations she found gossip and business in equal measure. From the glances the pair of them were receiving she was sure that, had their table not been set for two, some would have invited themselves over.

It was certainly giving Ruby a new appreciation of what happened at the balls. Before she'd very much been on the periphery of the dealings, now she was in the middle of them. Still they weren't topics that Weiss liked to dwell on.

"I've always thought Pression's blend of strings was genius in this cadence." Ruby said as the musicians started to play a new evolution of the melody. She very much enjoyed the way that Weiss' head snapped up from her study of her nails.

"Excuse me?" Weiss couldn't keep the disbelief of what she'd just thought she'd heard from her tone.

"Not many would be able to balance the pizzicato accompaniment with the adagio of the violins."

Weiss' eyes widened as though something truly unexpected had just occurred. "What?"

"I said the music's good," she spoke as if explaining something to a simpleton. Surprisingly the music was. The classical scene had never really been hers. She would even have gone so far as to say that it was boring. Now, partly because it was something that Weiss so enjoyed, and partly because of attending these balls, she'd discovered a new appreciation for the genre.

If it was up to her there still would have been more modern music playing, but on occasion she'd even found herself listening to a classical playlist without realising it. It came as a great surprise to her, but some might believe it was the first sign of becoming cultured. Whatever it ended up being, it was well worth the extra bit of research she'd put in to see the look on Weiss' face. Teasing Weiss was always so much fun, and she was one of the few who could get away with it without their health being threatened.

"I know what you said." Weiss' tone carried a hint of indignation that was no doubt muted due to those around them. "I just didn't expect to hear that from you."

"Why ever not?" Ruby imitated her tone, puffing herself up. "I'll let you know I am the model of Atlesian sophistication, and that includes the ability to distinguish the merits of the great works."

"Hmm," Weiss was sceptical. "What's your opinion on the eighth symphony?"

Ruby tried to keep any of her tells to the minimum. Weiss' question was stretching the limits of her brief education. "I think it's good, probably not quite as well written as this, but I still like it."

"Really? That is an interesting opinion." Ruby was buoyed that she'd got away with it. "I wasn't aware that you were that fond of silence. Seeing as Pression's seventh symphony was his last." Weiss gave her a victorious smile.

It was a good thing her cheeks were already coated in a layer of rouge. "Oh… So I might have been trying to impress you, but I do genuinely like this piece. And it's not like you could tell me anyone who's in the top ten at the moment?"

As they always did when the rare gaps in her extensive knowledge were found, Weiss' lips pressed into a thin line as she thought frantically. "The Achievemen," Weiss said finally.

"Lucky guess," Ruby muttered under her breath causing Weiss to revel in her triumph once more. The Achievemen had released their latest album to enough fanfare that even someone as oblivious to popular culture as Weiss must have been aware of it.

"Do you really like the music? You're not just saying it?"

Ruby met her eyes. They'd never been able to lie to each other successfully. They could just always tell. "I do. I'll admit I wasn't that keen on classical when we first met, but it's grown on me. And not just because it's your favourite genre either."

It was clear that Weiss wanted to reach across the table and take her hand, but was prohibited from doing so by the charade they'd agreed to maintain. "Would you like to go to a concert some time? This is good, but the acoustics just don't match when compared to a proper hall."

"Weiss, I would like to do literally anything as long as you're with me." It was the truth. Weiss made even the worst situations bearable. "But I think it's only fair if you get to take me to a concert, I get to pick the next one."

That prospect was clearly concerning for Weiss. Yang had told her too many ̶ ̶ of what she would consider horror ̶ ̶ tales of what normally went on at gigs.

"We won't be camping will we?"

"You didn't seem to mind it when we were on missions."

"Ruby," Weiss tone was stern again, "There is a very significant difference between camping out of necessity in the middle of a forest, and forsaking hygiene when there is likely to be a perfectly good hotel a few miles away."

"I thought you liked getting dirt under your nails?"

Almost subconsciously Weiss checked her perfectly manicured hands out of the corner of her eye. "I most certainly do not."

"We won't be camping." In truth Ruby didn't particularly fancy the idea of spending a night in a tent in Atlas. It was a far cry from Patch.

"And no drugs."

"Weiss!" Sure Yang had mentioned the numerous amount of recreational narcotics available, but the idea of trying any had barely crossed Ruby's mind.

"And no  _moshing_." Her distaste was apparent from the way she enunciated the word.

That was Ruby's cue to put her foot down. That was possibly the best part. "We most certainly are. It's not a gig without  _moshing_. I'll pick something you'll like as well. I bet you'll even enjoy it. It's something you haven't experienced before."

"Fine. I suppose it's only fair. The exact terms and conditions are still up for debate though. From what I've heard  _moshing_  cannot even be loosely described as fun."

They were interrupted by their food arriving. As usual it was an exemplary example of fine dining. In fact, Ruby was sure that most here would not consider the artistic visions on the plates  _fine_. To them it was probably just normal. It was so easy to forget just how much all this must cost. A cost that could be much better put to use elsewhere. While the rich dined on steak, the poor starved.

Ruby attempted not to let the thought get her down. A confrontational attitude wouldn't help her achieve her goal, and it wasn't most of these people's fault they were rich. They'd inherited their wealth just like Weiss would one day. Only she knew Weiss would use it to make the world a better place.

Thankfully, one of the many pieces of social protocol dictated that a meal should not be interrupted unless there was an open chair. It was so that jealous suitors were not able to derail any romantic encounters, but it suited their purposes just as well.

It was fun having Weiss here. Not that the other balls hadn't been. It was just so much better to be able to share the experience with someone she cared for immensely, and she was sure Weiss was enjoying it as well. Gone was the subtle tension that usually entered her when the topics of balls were raised. Instead she was happy and laughing. And beautiful. Ruby could never forget that. In her dress, in the candlelight she was simply radiant. It was with a clear conscience she could declare Weiss the most attractive person in the room by a mile.

They might have had a reprieve while they were eating, but their meal couldn't last forever, and the balls weren't only meant to be sources of entertainment. They both had work to do.

The instant their dessert plates were cleared away and the invisible barrier of etiquette evaporated someone approached their table. Ruby almost started to rise before he spoke; she'd gotten so used to this scenario.

"Weiss, I've missed your attendance greatly over the last few weeks. You never did stay and give me that dance. Some would think you've been avoiding me." It once again came as a shock to Ruby that she wasn't the centre of attention. In fact she didn't think she'd ever seen him before; she certainly hadn't danced with him. He was old, so old he was at least twice Weiss' age, and unlike most around he wasn't particularly handsome. His wealth had gone straight to his stomach and cheeks.

"I assure you that isn't the case Vert. I'm afraid my commitments have been conspiring to keep us apart." Just like when speaking to Amethystine Weiss spoke with refined eloquence. Not that she wasn't usually refined, it was just now she appeared to have turned it up to another level. In all honesty Ruby found it kind of hot.

"But not tonight it appears. Tell me, who is your friend?"

"Vert meet Ruby. Ruby this is Vert, heir to House Marceux."

"Ahh Ruby, I have heard all about you." Vert's Dionese accent was incredibly thick, so much so that he dropped the 'h' from the start of words.

"Good things I hope," Ruby said nervously.

"Of course." With that he seemed to dismiss her from his mind. That might have been the reason he'd never propositioned her to dance. Coming from one of the larger Houses he perhaps thought her below him. She was sure she'd spoken to one of his cousins though. "So now you are here, will you renege on your promise?"

"Naturally not. Just allow me a few moments to gather myself." Weiss took a sip of wine before rising and taking his offered hand. Vert led her away and immediately turned the topic of conversation towards some of their families' joint ventures. Weiss managed to throw an exasperated look back at Ruby and she returned it with an understanding smile.

Though it had come as a bit of a surprise not to be the one who was asked to dance, Ruby didn't mind overly much. With Weiss as her dinner companion she'd perhaps eaten more than she normally would, and was left a little bloated. A feeling made worse by her attire.

Consequently, she was content to sit with her glass of juice and watch as Weiss took her position in the centre of the dance floor. It might have been a coincidence that Weiss and her partner found themselves the centrepiece, but it wasn't. Someone like Weiss deserved the attention and few would dare to attempt to upstage a Schnee.

Not that they could. Not when someone was as graceful as Weiss was. The instant of the first sonata was simply magical. She'd danced with Weiss before of course, and Weiss had unfailingly made her feel like she was wearing scuba fins in comparison, but she'd never had the opportunity to just watch.

Weiss could have been a professional. She was that good. If the boardroom or helping people hadn't called to her, she would have been able to earn her way on the stage. It was another one of the many skills that Weiss had mastered throughout her life.

It was just the way she moved. Everyone who did dance could to a reasonable standard, some were better than others, but Weiss was better than all of them. She didn't even seem to be real. She was smooth and fluid she could have been made out of the wind. There didn't seem to be a single stiff joint in her entre body. The way she twirled, the way she spun, the way she made Vert seem incredibly clumsy in comparison. He was entirely unable to match her, and not just because he was unfit. It wasn't his fault; Ruby didn't see how anyone would have been able to.

Weiss dominated. There was no doubt that every eye was drawn to her, was watching her, probably even desiring her. But Ruby knew that she alone, in the room full of the wealthy and powerful, was able to realise that desire. For the umpteenth time she was forced to thank whatever god had conspired to create the circumstances that had ended up with her going out with the vision before her.

"Sup Ruby," somebody dropped into the now empty chair opposite her.

"Wraith," Ruby exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't seen him at all since their first meeting. The thought that he'd been avoiding her had even crossed her mind. "Where have you been?"

"Mistral. I got a message from some of the villages I helped out that the Grimm were starting to trouble them again. They couldn't afford the fees the local  _hunters_  were charging, whereas I was happy to do it for free. Naturally it meant I had to miss the balls. I hope you don't mind?"

Ruby suddenly felt the deep sting of chagrin. While she'd been annoyed because she wasn't able to find the one person who she felt a real connection with, he'd been helping the people who really needed it. What were her own wants when compared to that?

"Of course not. You're living up to your oaths as a hunter. How was it?"

"Good. I managed to get there before the Grimm did any major damage. It took me a while to whittle their numbers down, but they shouldn't be threatening the villages any time soon."

He was just so nonchalant in the way he spoke of saving entire villages Ruby couldn't help but wonder why she'd never seen him in the previous Vytal Tournament?

"So have you been up to anything?" Wraith asked.

"Not really. Nothing like you've been."

"Well you should really come with me next time. I think it would do you some good to get out of here. Not that you don't suit  _here_. Once again you look great."

"Thanks," Ruby's cheeks heated. "But I've got stuff I need to do here." She'd been thinking about going on a hunt more and more recently. She'd even begun practicing with Crescent Rose again. After such a long time where she'd barely been able to look at it, all the motions that had once come so naturally to her were clunky. It was so embarrassing she hadn't even told Weiss about her intention. Instead she trained in secret when Weiss went to work. It was her goal to spar again with Weiss eventually, but it would only be when her skills returned to her.

"Really, like what?"

"Oh you know… stuff."

"Sure  _stuffs_  always fun." Wraith clearly didn't know, but decided not to pry and changed the subject. "You'd never guess what happened to me last week though."

It was a challenge and one that Ruby failed miserably. The anecdote that Wraith told involved him, a forbidden pool, a lack of clothes, and a very angry mother Boarbatusk. The one mishap after another had her unable to control her laughter to such an extent that she almost missed the end of Weiss' dance, only just throwing up a hand in a wave after she saw Weiss looking towards her out of the corner of her eye. Weiss wasn't able to come back and meet Wraith though, instead she was in deep discussion with Vert as they headed towards another table.

It was a shame. They would have liked each other.

"And that's how I got this wound. Do you want to see?" Wraith got up and started to slide his pants down to bare his bandaged buttock.

"No!" Ruby squealed covering her eyes. She couldn't think of a single other person she'd met at these balls that would commit such a breach of etiquette, but Wraith probably fit in less than her. Even she appeared civilised compared to him, and that was really saying something.

"Your loss," he said buttoning back up. "It's safe to look." Ruby lowered her hands and her eyes were met by his almost luminescent grin. Between him and Weiss she was really enjoying herself.

"Do you want to dance?" Ruby blurted out the question. As far as she was aware it went entirely against protocol, but after watching Weiss she was feeling the urge to put herself through the paces as well.

Wraith paused with Weiss' abandoned glass halfway to his lips. "Well this simply won't do Ruby. Never have I been more emasculated." There was such hurt and outrage in his tone Ruby thought she'd blown their friendship out of the water, but then he smiled. "I might not be a gentleman but there are some things so engrained in my bloodline that even I am unable to go against them. I could never be so coarse as to force the lady to proposition me. So Ruby Rose, might I have your hand for a twirl?"

Ruby laughed and rose. She didn't see why such a convention existed. If she wanted to ask someone to dance she should have been able to, but the end result was what mattered. "I'd love to."

"In that case I'll be the most envied man here." He took her hand and led her down.

As surprising as it was, he wasn't such a great dancer. She'd thought that as a hunter he would have been. It was why she'd assumed that she'd been able to pick up the art of dancing so quickly. He was still good, better than most; maybe it was his wound that was holding him back. His profession definitely showed in the strength of his arms and the firmness of his sculpted muscles, but there was just something missing. It was only then that Ruby realised that she'd been comparing him to Weiss. No one would have had that contest fall in their favour.

When they finally came to a rest Wraith spoke. "You know I don't often ask anyone to dance. I like to save myself for someone special and you most certainly are. I can only imagine how good you are with Crescent Rose"

"You're not too bad yourself." Receiving such a compliment from someone like him would have been unimaginable to her before. In reality he wasn't bad when compared against normal people.

As they made way for the next group of people Wraith paused as if only just remembering something. "Oh… do you know Lunaria Estrella by any chance?"

"What?" That name suddenly brought Ruby back to the main reason she was here. It wasn't dancing with her friends and enjoying herself.

"I heard from Blossom that she'd been interested in you."

"Right." That was promising. Or was it? Should she have sought her out straight away? "I… I better go and find her then. Thanks for telling me." Ruby made to leave, but then stopped. Given Wraith's enigmatic nature she wanted to know just when she'd see him again. "Are you going to hang around here? Or will I see you at the next ball?"

Wraith chuckled at that. "I don't think I have much of a choice," he obviously expected her to laugh with him. "You know, as my parents are hosting it." She hadn't. It made her realise that she still didn't know his last name. Wraith spoke like a circus announcer. "Prepare for next time when you will be amazed by the wonders that Lord and Lady Osier have spent what feels like the last few years obsessing over!"

_Osier_. At least that was one little puzzle that had been solved easily enough. By her recollection they were a mid-sized house that tried to keep itself neutral. "I'm sure it'll be great. If I don't see you again tonight, I'll see you there. I really shouldn't keep Lunaria waiting though. Bye."

"No you probably shouldn't. That one is not a patient person. See you around. It's been fun."

Ruby strode away. Searching. She was always surrounded by a group of sycophants, Lunaria shouldn't have been difficult to find. And she wasn't, it only took Ruby a few minutes to locate her. It was clear that Lunaria was not impressed by her tardiness.

"Look who's crawled up. Finally." That earned Ruby a round of mean-spirited laughter. "What is it you want child?"

That confused Ruby until she realised that Lunaria probably wouldn't want to admit to just how deep their ties went. "Umm… I was wondering if I might have a few minutes of your time Lunaria?" That earned her a disapproving scowl.  _Right,_  Lunaria's stupid rule. "I mean, Lady Lunaria." Ruby curtseyed by way of apology.

"I suppose I should humour you. Leave us." Once again all it took from her were two words and the table was quickly left deserted.

"I take it that it will not be necessary for an anonymous tip to find its way into Lord Schnee's in-tray?"

"Umm… no Lady Lunaria." Ruby tried to sound meek at the reminder of the hold that Lunaria believed she had over her. Weiss had been furious when Ruby had told her and Winter what she'd been threatened with. So much so that she'd stalked from the room and hadn't returned for several long and uncomfortable minutes.

"That is fortunate for you. Though you better not make me regret my generosity. What do you have for me?" She was really coming to despise Lunaria. Ruby wasn't someone who could  _hate_  easily. It was even beyond her to truly loathe the White Fang. She wanted to see them brought to justice, but she didn't have a desire to make them pay in kind for what the crimes they'd committed.

Lunaria, though, was one of the most vile people she'd ever had the misfortune to meet. She was a bully, pure and simple. There were plenty of bullies in the world, though there weren't many with a multinational corporation at their back. Lunaria believed that she was a vulnerable girl and was constantly threatening her with a fate that may have been worse than death. Just to make her dance to tune. Ruby couldn't wait for the moment that they'd stopped her, and they never had to talk again.

"Uhh… yes. I had a look around Weiss' office." She hadn't. Instead Winter had armed her with an arsenal of facts, that Lunaria would be able to be corroborate, and little snippets to send her in the wrong direction. Exactly what Winter was trying to achieve, she couldn't tell. Most of what she'd said was entirely indecipherable.

"Then pray tell." Lunaria was at the limit of her patience.

"Right, there was a lot of stuff there and I didn't understand all of ̶ ̶ "

"Stop," Lunaria interrupted her something else catching her attention, but when Ruby turned around she couldn't see what it had been. "I have a better idea. You enjoy dancing, yes?"

Ruby was thrown off balance by the drastic change of subject. The monologue she'd been preparing crumbled to pieces in her head. "Uhh… yeah," she answered finally.

"Then why don't you tell me on the dance floor. You'll be much more comfortable." Lunaria's tone was far removed from the hostile one Ruby had experienced up to this point. Instead there was some amount of at least feigned kindness there.

Ruby had only just managed to cling on to all of Winter's facts and at the request they slipped from her metaphorical fingers once more. Ruby blurted out her foremost thought. "But… but we're girls."

Lunaria tittered. "I'm glad that hasn't escaped your attention. It hardly matters," she paused and whispered conspiratorially, "I mean it's not like you're gay, are you?"

Ruby almost swallowed her tongue at the unexpected question. "N… No," she choked out.

Lunaria smiled radiantly and took her hand. "Well then, we'll just be two  _friends_  enjoying each other's company. There's nothing wrong with that. Come on."

Unless she wanted to make a scene and rip her hand from Lunaria's grasp she didn't have a choice but to comply. Lunaria might not have believed it wouldn't be a big deal for two girls to dance together, but to Ruby's eye they did draw a lot more stares than normal as they stood at the side of the marble expanse. Though that might just have been because of the social implications of someone with Lunaria's lofty position dancing with the  _peasant_  from Vale. Lunaria basked in the attention. Her back was straight, her shoulders back, her breasts thrust out, all as if she was daring anyone to call her actions into question.

Ruby wasn't sure they would anyway. Though amongst the older generations homosexuality was still publicly frowned upon, those who would inherit and had inherited recently were much more accepting, but old prejudices still ruled.

The general composition of couples on the dance floor in no way matched what they should have been judging from global statistics. In her time at the balls, Ruby hadn't seen a single gay couple dance. It might have been simply that the routines were heavily choreographed around the genders.

Ruby had no doubts that she would not be the one who was  _leading_. As they took the customary positions opposite each other, Ruby lamented how she'd managed to get into this situation. She wanted Lunaria to be Weiss. She longed for it with all her heart.

For their well-being she'd already sacrificed her first formal dance at a ball, one which should have been with the person who held the keys to her heart, but it had been with a guy. She'd been able to tell herself it wasn't allowed for her to dance with another girl. That was the only reason and yet here she was curtseying to someone else in a dress. Someone that  _should_  have been Weiss.

Most would have found Lunaria stunningly attractive. She had beauty, power, and money. They would have been overjoyed that she'd accepted their invitation. But Ruby wasn't most people. She knew how horrible Lunaria really was on the inside; her glowing skin and deep cleavage was just covering it all up.

Weiss wasn't like that. She was beautiful inside and out. As they came close, Lunaria's heavy perfume was cloying, overpowering, whereas Weiss' was subtle, and beneath it was the scent that was unmistakably her.

Lunaria's grip was harsh on her hand, she pulled her back and forth as if not wanting to risk one of her partner's missteps embarrassing them both. When they'd danced, Weiss had always trusted her implicitly. In every single way Lunaria couldn't hold a candle to her. But then that was love.

With that thought deep in her heart Lunaria's next question suddenly became very easy to answer. "So, what did you find?"

* * *

 

"Thank you Vert. Have your legal reach out to mine tomorrow with the alterations. This has been a most productive evening." Weiss said as she rose from the table in the room just off the main hall. Its privacy was meant for either sensitive business arrangements or meetings of a more dubious nature.

"Indeed and I shall." Without her permission he took her hand and kissed its back. Weiss fought the urge to gag. "Perhaps you'd like to celebrate with another glass of wine?"

"Sadly I have other matters to attend to tonight," she delicately extracted her hand from his. If her father was here, if history was anything to go by, he might well have struck her for that. She knew exactly what Vert was implying. It repulsed her.

He was old enough to  _be_  her father, and even if her preferences didn't lie with women, she very much doubted she would have been attracted to him. She couldn't understand how anyone could allow their body to deteriorate to such a state to satisfy their gluttony; even in the short time they'd danced his breathing had become heavily laboured.

Despite that, in her father's eyes, he would have been a close to perfect match. He would have gained a son with an impressive acumen for business, and any child they had would allow the absorption of the extensive holdings of House Marceux into the Schnee Empire.

Of course, for that to happen she would have to be intimate with him. That thought sent a shiver down her spine. It was a fate that she'd managed to escape so narrowly. Since she'd confessed who she was to her father she'd known that at that time he'd only considered her good enough for breeding stock. If he'd had his way her only responsibility would have been to open her legs for whatever repulsive man he'd chosen.

It had been close, so close. In another world she might well have been that person. A person who might very well have considered ending her own life as she lay crying after being assaulted every night. But she'd escaped that dark path, and she'd proved to her father that he'd been wrong about her. He'd even admitted it. And now she would never allow him to choose who she spent her life with. That choice was hers alone. It wasn't a hard one to make and thoughts of someone else filled her mind. It most certainly wasn't Vert.

"I will see you in four days if all goes well with the contract. Goodbye." Weiss didn't curtsey in farewell, but then she very rarely had to. There were few people in the world who were more powerful than her anymore.

Ruby had asked if much business was actually carried out at these balls, and for most people there wasn't, but a Schnee wasn't most people. While others would have spent the time laughing with their friends, dancing, drinking, she'd been liaising with a group of lawyers specifically kept on duty back at the Eiszapfen attempting to iron out the initial details of a tentative contract. Not the way most would choose to spend what was meant to be their recreational time.

The moment she opened the door the babble of conversation and music hit her. It almost made her panic. She'd always loathed these balls. It had been worse when she was younger and everyone had known just how out of favour she was with her father. People had only ever approached her if Winter was otherwise engaged. It had made her feel so inadequate. Now it was slightly better. The backstabbing and gossip still disgusted her, but everyone knew that she now had an office on the same floor as Winter's. And as had just been proven, she could settle multimillion lien contracts as well.

Weiss headed back towards the table where they'd eaten. It was perhaps a forlorn hope that Ruby would still be there, but she'd wanted to recharge her batteries. As hard as it was for her to believe, she'd thoroughly enjoyed this ball; even Vert had failed to entirely put a damper on her mood. It had been fun to see Ruby get dressed up, to attend with her, to talk to her over a good meal. It was what everyone else undoubtedly experienced whenever they came to one, and something that she hadn't until today. With Ruby here, the balls weren't that bad.

The table was unsurprisingly deserted and Weiss started to search for her. It was difficult. Most of the time she could only get a few steps before someone stopped her for a word. It was hard to tell what was worse. The so obviously fake attempts to win her favour, or the people who ignored the pretence entirely and tried to jam a proposition down her throat.

Weiss extracted herself for the eighth time in as many minutes and turned her eyes towards the dance floor. Her body froze.

To most who didn't know her well it would have simply looked as though she'd paused to indulge herself in the spectacle as so many were doing. They wouldn't have seen the minutest twitching in her fingers that was representative of the rage that was burning inside of her.

She'd psyched herself up for this. She'd known that Ruby would have to dance with other people. Do the thing that was denied to both of them. One of things she longed to do. To show Ruby off to the world and proclaim that she was her girlfriend. It would have been a beautiful moment.

Weiss had believed that she'd managed to at least accept that they were currently unable, and had gotten used to Ruby returning from the balls smelling of numerous people's aftershave. This was different though, and Weiss couldn't take her eyes from travesty in front of her.

Ruby was dancing with another girl. And not just any girl, but Lunaria. Someone who had bullied her relentlessly at these balls. Someone who had turned most of the other people her age against her. With the backing of her own family Lunaria, hadn't had to worry significantly about insulting a Schnee. She was the main reason why Weiss had often broken down into tears the moment she'd got into her bedroom.

And now she was dancing with Ruby. Ruby even seemed to be enjoying it. She wasn't trying to pull away but was instead pressed close against Lunaria, her head almost buried in the ample cleavage that Lunaria was displaying. Lunaria was definitely enjoying herself as well, she was looking around at all the people watching and she…

_That… That whore!_

The uncouth thought screamed into Weiss mind like a lightning bolt. Lunaria had just groped Ruby's posterior through her dress, in full view of everyone. Ruby had flinched but hadn't pushed her away. She was probably too scared to.

The rage that had been inside of Weiss boiled over. If not for years of careful and rigorous training she would have lost control entirely. It was her every intention to cast a glyph, leap down there, drag Ruby away, and punch Lunaria right in the face. Wipe the smirk off her stupid lips.

Weiss had even taken a step forward before the logical part of her frantically grasped the reins. She couldn't do it. To most, hers and Ruby's relationship was still a secret. It would seem like an entirely unprovoked attack.

One that might have well caused very real damage. Lunaria hadn't trained as a huntress, she would have been hospitalised at the least. It was unlikely that Weiss would have been arrested, but it would have been a PR nightmare and her father would have been furious with her.

So all Weiss could do was stand and watch as Ruby was smothered by much larger breasts than her own. Weiss suddenly felt very, very sick. She needed some air.

The scowl on her face was enough to keep anyone from attempting to intercept her as she made her way to one of the doors leading from the ballroom. No one wanted to get in the way of a Schnee who was quite clearly livid.

Weiss threw open a pair of doors with enough force that if they had been locked the result wouldn't have been different. The corridor beyond was almost deserted. One kissing couple leapt apart at her appearance but Weiss ignored them. She couldn't care less at the moment.

He heels clicked thunderously on the floor as she strode down the hall and turning the corner she collided with someone. If possible, her mood got worse.

"Sorry," the man said hurriedly.

It was him. The one who'd taken her place the moment she'd left to dance with Vert. The one who had made Ruby hold her sides with laughter. The person who Ruby quite clearly had met before but had left out of her reports to them.

The charlatan who had evidentially tricked Ruby into believing that he was her friend. While all he was doing was preparing to hurt her. No one was ever allowed to hurt Ruby again. That was her decree.

Of course that was the reasoning Weiss used to justify it to herself. There was another part of her within the roiling flames of her anger, which had seen Ruby laugh at his jokes and had felt the cruel sting of jealousy. The insecure wraith that was left from her childhood.

"In here." Her voice was arctic cold as she gestured him inside a deserted study.

"Ms Schnee, I'm… I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." He was panicked, but House Osier was not one who could afford the animosity of a Schnee.

"In!" Weiss left no room for discussion. She locked the doors behind the pair of them.

"Ms Schnee. Let me make it up to ̶ ̶ " His voice change into a strangled cry as he was yanked into the air. A black attractor glyph had sprung into existence in the air behind him, and he splayed out against it, his feet a few inches off the ground.

The instincts honed into him at Bastion caused him to flare his Aura and Weiss could see the tightening around his eyes as he prepared his Semblance.

"Go on. Make my day." Weiss spat out the challenge with such venom it caused the blood to drain from his face. Her hands were held in front of her, one maintaining the glyph, the other ready to counter whatever he tried. She wasn't armed ̶ ̶ the balls were now places of social and economic assassinations rather than actual ones like they'd been in the past ̶ ̶ but she didn't need to be. Not for him.

"You scraped your way out of Bastion Poireau." She used his given name, not the stupid nickname he thought made him appear cool. "I've seen your transcripts. You're not a great hunter, no matter what lies you tell. If you think I'm wrong, try me."

She couldn't count the number of times that they'd been in a group together and she'd heard him boast of his skills. In reality he'd taken down a few Grimm at the Wall. It wasn't impressive. He hadn't fought off hordes which just kept coming, and it showed.

Anyone at Beacon would have risen to her challenge, it would have been easier. She could have said he tried to assault her and he never would have had the courage to show his face in Atlas again. Instead of taking the courageous course he lowered his hands back to the surface of the glyph. Weiss almost sighed. Now it had to be the hard way.

"Weiss…" His voice cut off as she increased the attractive force of the glyph. "Ms Schnee. I'm sorry. I didn't mean ̶ ̶ "

Weiss rode over his meek apology. "Poireau. Listen and listen well. I'm only going to say this once."

He might have tricked Ruby, but he hadn't tricked her. Ruby was naïve when it came to the truths of the world. It was what made her so special. And so vulnerable. Poireau undoubtedly had nefarious plans for her. He'd won her friendship through lies, and would only use it to cause her pain.

After what they'd been through after escaping Vale, Weiss never wanted to see Ruby hurt like that again. She was only just on the path to recovery and no one was going to derail her. At the end of the day, Weiss would do anything to protect her. Including the things Ruby would never be willing to do herself.

When Weiss spoke her words were delivered entirely devoid of emotion. "If you ever so much as breathe near Ruby again, I will have you killed. Do I make myself clear?"

In the paleness of his blood-drained face, his eyes were wide and afraid. "Wh…What?" he stuttered.

"Do I make myself clear?" Weiss growled, doubling the amount of Aura she was using to power her Semblance until even standing three feet away she could feel herself being drawn towards the glyph. For Poireau it would have felt like every part of his body was being crushed.

He managed to raise his head enough to nod.

"Say it!"

"Y… Yes." He was likely having trouble breathing and his words were weak.

But they were enough. He'd agreed to the terms of the ultimatum. His fate was now in his own hands.

Rather than simply let it simply fade out of reality Weiss reversed the polarity of her glyph. The sudden change from attraction to repulsion catapulted Poireau across the room. His shoulder slammed into a bookcase snapping the wooden shelf, and he fell to its base as books cascaded down around him.

Weiss left him on the floor groaning. With hands that were no longer shaking with rage she calmly unlocked the door. She might not have been able to combat Lunaria just yet, but she'd saved Ruby from Poireau. That knowledge improved her mood.

When Weiss Schnee reappeared in the ballroom it was with a pleasant and welcoming smile on her lips.

 

 


	26. Chapter 26

"And what will they do to us if we let them?" asked the Faunus man wearing a White Fang sash over his suit. He was addressing the crowd that had gathered before the table he was standing on.

"They'll kill us," someone shouted. If Yang's suspicions were correct it was probably a plant. She'd witnessed this scenario enough times across the city to be able to tell.

The harsh statement elicited just the reaction the orator would have wanted. A ripple of anxious muttering passed through the crowd.

"Yes my friends, he speaks the truth. They've already started. Here, behind these walls, in the protection of those who liberated us, we are safe." He thumped his chest over his heart with a closed fist before holding his arm out in front of him. The White Fang salute. When he spoke again his voice had lost much of its power. It was still clearly audible, but it was filled with regret and sadness.

"But I cannot say the same for our brothers and sisters across the world. It is with heavy tidings I must tell you this, but to be a Faunus outside our fair city is a death sentence. More than ever. In the places that claim they are civilised, Faunus are dragged from their homes and beaten to death. What is the punishment for those who carried out the crime I ask?"

"Nothing!" This time a group called out in perfect unison.

"Exactly!" His voice began echoing from the walls of the square once more. "There is no punishment for those who committed murder. For as I'm sure you are all aware, according to the police of the world, you cannot commit a crime against a Faunus. The public lynchings are celebrated! The homes of our mothers and fathers are being burned to the ground, and there is no justice for them…

"I'm afraid that isn't the worst of it either. In some places our kind are being gathered up. Forcibly segregated into camps. Marched in chains to the nearest mine. And…" he made a show of reliving something terrible. "I'm sorry… I didn't believe it when I first heard, it was too horrible, but the pictures don't lie. In some places our brothers and sisters are being exterminated in industrial killing factories." His horror was mirrored in the crowd. It was likely the first they'd heard of it.

"By the trainload they send us in and only corpses come out. They have decided to wipe us off the face of the planet. Our only crime is that we are different. We here are the last bastion of all that is good in the world. We are hope.

"Tens of thousands of our kind have sought to seek refuge with us. But are they allowed?"

"No!" This time the group was larger as more people got caught up in the speech. It was a well written one; the cues were easy to read.

"No they aren't. Men, women, and even children have braved their oppressors to escape from certain death. They braved the Grimm, carrying their worldly possessions on their backs. Some might even have thought they'd triumphed in their quest. But that was before they heard the sound of airships.

"They might have been able to scare away the Grimm, but they were unable to fight trained soldiers. They were helpless before them. Our mothers and sisters," he choked up, "Are being raped again and again. Our brothers and fathers are dying as they seek to defend those they love. And there are other things. More terrible things. Things I dare not repeat for they would haunt your nightmares as surely as they haunt mine.

"We are trying to help them, but we are too few to protect the entirety of the kingdom of Vale. The kingdom of the Faunus. Our kingdom. We need your help. You could save all those who are dying. Being murdered. Who knows it might even be your own family who you rescue from certain death.

"Do not believe we are safe in our city either. A great army is being formed. One with the sole purpose of slaughtering every man, woman, and child who resides within these walls. If the world has its way, the Faunus will only exist on the pages of history books within a year. They mean to kill us all.

"You know I speak the truth because their scouts are already here. They barely allow a day go by without them sating their desire for our blood? How many buildings have they destroyed? How many people have they murdered? Good people. People returning home after buying groceries, visiting friends. Killed in the street for no reason other than to make us scared. To make us meekly accept our fate and walk into those death factories of our own will.

"But you can stop them. With the strength of your arms. The courage in your heart. Come speak to me. Join us! Defend those that you love.  _You_  could be the one who saves this city." He now seemed to be talking to every person listening individually. " _You_  could be the one who saves your race. Who drives a spike into the evil that has plagued us all our lives.  _You_  could be the one who liberates us all. Who is brave enough to join me?"

"I am." The first person who had called out stuck up his arm.

"My good man. I can feel the pureness in your soul from here. Who else?"

More people called out. Most were probably plants, but some had been caught up in the mood. Perhaps forty people moved towards the desk set up below the orator. New recruits.

Yang turned away. She'd seen enough. The lies were becoming more outlandish every time she heard them. Concentration camps, industrial killing factories, columns of refugees being slaughtered. It was ridiculous.

But the people in the city were scared, and that made them easy to manipulate. There still wasn't any traffic through the CCT. They had no news of the outside world apart from what the White Fang told them. Too many believed the propaganda.

Since they'd started this fresh recruitment drive, hundreds had joined the ranks of the White Fang. Yang had taken time to watch them train. At the moment they were clumsy, but in time they would be formidable enough.

The leadership of the White Fang was undoubtedly preparing Vale for the attack they knew was coming. What the result of that battle would be Yang couldn't say. Even the members of the Resistance had received zero news of what was happening outside of Vale as well. If Torchwick had, he wasn't sharing. All she knew was that with thousands on both sides, the slaughter would be horrific. It would be a war of a scale that had not existed for decades.

Blake materialised by her side. She always did that. No matter the situation she was capable of appearing without a sound.

"It's done," Blake said tonelessly.

Yang hated those words, but hated them coming from Blake most of all. She'd heard them far too often since returning to Vale. The way Blake said it didn't help either. There wouldn't have been a difference in her voice whether she meant she'd just bought groceries or cut someone's throat.

Though today, unless Blake had gone horribly off plan, it should have been referring to something in the middle of the spectrum. Something that Yang had agreed with. That was the terms of the ultimatum she'd presented to Blake. From this point onwards nothing would happen without both of their say-sos. Even if it went against what Torchwick had ordered them to do.

She'd already sacrificed so much on this godforsaken mission that there was nothing more to give. If Torchwick or Ozpin wanted to court-martial her, so be it. It would be better to be imprisoned than to lose any more of herself in this war.

"Any problems?" Yang asked quietly.

Blake shook her head. On a busy street they couldn't risk saying more. It was risky enough for Yang to be outside anyway. The White Fang were still hunting members of the Resistance and they assumed that most would come from the human population.

She'd actually already been stopped once since the raid on their apartment. It was good fortune that she hadn't been singled out. The White Fang had set up a checkpoint on the street and had searched everyone coming off it. Faunus and human alike. Consequently, all they'd had time to do was a pat down, and ask a few quick questions.

Thankfully the backup ID she was using was watertight. Her false name hadn't flagged up anything in their system, and the search had been for more obvious weapons. The White Fang grunt had entirely ignored the bracelets on her wrists. That spoke of poor and rushed training more than anything. A significant portion of hunters had weapons that could be disguised as something else. Anything out of the ordinary, such as her heavy bracelets, should have been checked more carefully, but they hadn't been.

Fortune had favoured her that time, but she'd been prepared for things going wrong. She wasn't going to have another situation like back at the apartment. That had been her fault. All the deaths. She could have prevented them. Instead the White Fang had caught her off-guard.

It wasn't going to happen again. Since that time Ember Celica had barely left her wrists; only in the shower did she remove them, and even then they were within arm's reach. Another incident like that wasn't going to happen again.

So it was with slightly more confidence that she was able to walk down streets with White Fang patrols scanning all of the passers-bys. Though their gazes lingered on her as a human, none moved to stop her. From what Torchwick had found out, and the evidence she'd seen since, no one had been able to deduce the real identities of the girls who'd rented that apartment. That at least was a blessing.

They'd gotten another few hundred metres away from the rally when a bomb went off. Immediately the lights in all the shops and offices went out.

The reaction was predictable. Everyone jumped, including Yang and Blake, some people screamed, but after the initial shock, most just turned to the fresh plume of smoke and muttered to their neighbours. A bomb wasn't that much of an unusual occurrence anymore.

Of course the White Fang went sprinting towards the scene of the commotion, straight past the perpetrators. It had been a bomb, but not a large one. It was only meant to render the substation serving this sector inoperable. By itself it wouldn't have been significant. But it wasn't by itself, not by a long shot.

Yang wasn't entirely sure about attacking the people of the Vale rather than the city's rulers. In her opinion it was simply driving the Faunus who hadn't yet chosen a side into the White Fang's camp. Though the greater nuances driving the strategy behind the campaign were clearly out of her reach, it was infinitely better than what they could have been instructed to do.

It was almost a victimless crime. There were no deaths, no mangled body parts, just a lot of annoyed and inconvenienced people. Just another sector of Vale where productivity would be reduced. In comparison to what they could have done it was a fleabite, but even fleabites could add up.

After a few moments, the crowd began moving again. Yang and Blake joined the general flow away from the smoke. No one was quite sure if there would be another attack in the same area. In the crowd there was anonymity, but it was still a crowd.

Blake might have been able to sneak past a cordon and plant a bomb without her hands shaking, but people all around caused the slightest hesitation in her step. In all honesty Blake was brilliant at masking her discomfort. Before she'd admitted it to her, Yang had no idea that her phobia was as deep seated as it was. Since the confession she made sure to stay just a little closer to Blake than she normally would when in a crowd. It seemed to help.

Though they did encounter numerous White Fang patrols rushing to the sight of the latest attack, the journey back to where they were staying passed without further incident. As the terrorist group was now finding, their former modus operandi was almost impossible to proactively prevent.

After keeping them lying low for a couple of days, Torchwick had found them a new apartment. As secure as the warehouse was, having people coming and going at all times of the day would only incite suspicion. Their new apartment wasn't as nice as the old one, and Coco and Velvet were staying a few blocks away, but at least it wasn't underground. The fresh air coming through the open windows was almost intoxicating.

"Do you mind if I take a shower?" Blake asked. "That duct was not clean."

"No go ahead. I'll get dinner started." Blake smiled her thanks and headed into the tiny bathroom.

Tiny was a word that could have been used to describe everything about the apartment. It consisted of just two rooms. The main kitchen, living, and sleeping area were all one, and a bathroom. A week ago Yang would have found it impossible to be trapped in such an enclosed space with the person whom she'd despised.

Now it was bearable. There were still awkward silences, tense moments, but compared to what there had been it was nothing. As long as Blake kept to their agreement, time would hopefully soothe their issues. Whether their relationship would ever return to what it had been? Yang wasn't sure.

She wasn't even sure that she wanted to pursue a relationship with Blake anymore. She still found her attractive, still desired her, but the foundations that the attraction had been built upon had been sullied.

Every interaction was tainted by the memories of what Blake had done, what Blake had made her do. Corvo might have been a member of the White Fang, he might have been a rapist, but it didn't stop her mind replaying what she'd done to him. The past continued to haunt her.

In the days since she'd done her best to ignore it. It was difficult but possible; at night there was no defence. She'd toss and turn, watch as her fists grew ever bloodier. The worst thing was that in her nightmares she wouldn't stop. Not until she'd killed Corvo with her bare hands. Not until she felt his skull burst beneath her knuckles.

She'd wake up horrified, and she'd wake up hating herself. Self-loathing was never something she'd had to deal with before. She'd always acted in line with her personal beliefs, her values. After the death of her mum those might have strayed, but they'd been more or less resolute.

Blake had forced her to shatter those beliefs. And Blake had only been able to do that because Yang hadn't had enough strength to stand up against her. It was all very well complaining after the fact, but she could have stopped it from occurring.

If she had, her soul might not be so sullied. She was sure that was the reason why her eyes had finally changed from red. It had been her wish for so long. How naïve she'd been. She hadn't realised that the only thing which could trump her fury at the White Fang, was her despising herself.

Yang had started cooking by the time Blake emerged, the onions proving a good cover for the gathered moisture at the corner of her eyes. Yang wiped them with the back of her hands.

"All good?"

Blake nodded and gestured at the partially prepared ingredients. "Yeah thanks. I can take over if you want to jump in. There should be enough hot water left."

Yang explained just what she was making before shutting herself in the small bathroom. It was more a closet. When sitting on the toilet her knees almost touched the door and there was barely enough room to get undressed.

As promised the water was warm, but it came out as a dribble. If she actually had to live here it would have driven her mad. To her discredit she'd never realised how bad some people had it. Her home on Patch had been beautiful and cosy; her accommodation at Signal and Beacon, though shared, had still been for those who were attending some of the best combat schools on the planet. She and Weiss might have had a minor war over the allocated space for their cosmetics on the counter before the mirror, but at least they'd had a counter.

Yang couldn't imagine how hard it would have been for someone to come back after a long day's work to this. These two tiny rooms, and knowing they would be spending most of their income on them. She'd never considered herself rich, but compared to some she was.

The water pressure was barely enough to wash the shampoo from her hair, and it entirely failed to relieve any of the tension from her scalp.

"Yang! You need to see this!" Blake called frantically through the door.

It took Yang a heartbeat to process the information before she ripped the mould-covered curtain back and leapt onto the tiles. She only took the time to slap Ember Celica into place and wrap a towel loosely around her body before erupting into the main room prepared for anything.

What she hadn't expected was to find Blake watching the television intently. Her words had made it sound like the door was being kicked down.

"What?" Yang barked, water and soap running down her legs and soaking into the carpet.

Blake turned away from the screen. "Oh…" Her gaze took in expanses of bared and glistening flesh. The towel Yang was wearing was not a large one. It barely managed to cover the distance between her breasts and her thighs.

Blake shook her head, clearing it of her thoughts, and indicated the TV. "The White Fang are just about to hold a press conference. It must be something big. I didn't think you'd…" she trailed off, staring again.

Yang huffed. What did Blake think the response to her call would have been? She was just about to head back into the bathroom when the shot cut away from the anchor to a man standing in front of the flags of the White Fang and Vale.

Without the luxury of time, she decided to ignore her state of undress and sat down next to Blake on the bed. With the increased activity of the Resistance she could only guess that this was linked.

The man wasn't Adam though, not unless he'd changed his appearance dramatically from Blake's description. Yang threw Blake a questioning look.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen him before."

One of the newer members then, and one of those who'd been chosen to be the face of the White Fang's government.

"My friends, I speak to you now in troubling times. You are all aware of the dangers that we as a free city are facing. Why less than an hour ago there was yet another terrorist bombing. An atrocity in which two children lost their lives."

Yang's stomach dropped from her body, but Blake shook her head angrily.

"Not a chance. There's absolutely no way that's true."

The reassurance recovered some of her feeling. The only reason she'd agreed to the attack was they were sure there would be no collateral damage. For a moment she'd believed that they'd got that wrong.

The White Fang had to be lying. They'd done it before. The majority of  _terrorist_ —and the irony was so thick it was palpable—attacks had been accompanied by reports of fatalities, even ones where she knew there hadn't been. But the population didn't know that. The Resistance had killed two innocent children. How many more lives would they claim until someone stood up to them?

The spokesman continued. "Their names will now have to be added to an ever growing list. A list of loved ones who have been stolen from us. Those carrying out these heinous crimes want to see us exterminated, and they will stop at nothing until they achieve their wish. Not unless we join together as a free people and stop them.

"On Patch we have done just that. It is with great pleasure I can announce that two of the terrorist leaders were captured in a daring raid against their hideout." The screen cut to a dark room that was clearly a cell and for the second time in as many minutes Yang' stomach dropped from her body and this time it didn't stop falling.

"Is that?" Blake breathed the question. Yang had no response for her.

Chained to the brick wall with their arms above their head was her dad and uncle. She barely recognised them. Their faces were purple and swollen with bruises. Even with the injuries, there was no mistaking them. They were her family, and they were in trouble. Fire rushed into her blood.

"These two men are responsible for dozens of deaths. They have waged a campaign of terror against the innocent population of Patch, intent only on causing as much damage as possible. They are criminals of the highest degree.

"Because of this they have been transferred to Vale where they will face trial for their crimes, and ultimately they will face justice."

Anything else he said was lost on Yang, her head was spinning.

_Dad…_   _Qrow…_ She'd known something like this would happen. Ever since they selfishly refused to be evacuated. It had been obvious to her that their message was a lie. They would never have planned to retreat into the forests and abandon those who were still suffering under the White Fang's rule. It had been their intention to fight the occupation all along.

Torchwick had refused to discuss who his contacts among the Resistance were, but somewhere Yang had known. Her uncle especially would have perhaps been the most experienced hunter left on the island after most of the teachers at Signal had left with their pupils. It only made sense that he was running the Resistance on Patch.

And it had come to this. With her seeing them imprisoned. She might not have had a good relationship with either, their neglect of her and Ruby in the wake of their mum's death had left too many scars to heal, but they were still family. And you didn't let people hurt family.

"Yang?" It was only when she felt Blake's fingers close on her bicep did Yang realise she was standing. The TV was still on, but any sounds were barely audible over the pounding in her ears.

"What!" Yang rounded on Blake causing her to flinch back.

"Are they?"

"Yes!"  _Wasn't that obvious?_

"God…"

Yang tried to turn away but Blake caught her wrist. "Yang you need to think. You need to breathe."

"Get off me!" Yang snarled, nothing was going to stop her.

"Not until you calm down."

That was time she didn't have. Yang pulled the arm Blake was clutching toward her. Blake was thrown off balance and was pulled straight into a flat-palm strike to her chest. It was an unexpected hit that left Blake gasping in surprise and pain. With Yang's anger behind it Blake was thrown backwards and left sprawled on the bed.

Guilt rose at the sight, but it was only a raindrop compared to the ocean of her rage. She started away only for Blake to materialise in front of her.

"I'm not letting you leave like this." Blake was slightly winded, but none the less dropped into a combat ready crouch.

Yang attempted to barrel straight through her, but Blake was true to her word, not giving an inch. She forced Yang backwards clutching at the knot of her towel with one hand.

"Calm down. You won't be able to do anything like this."

She almost threw an actual punch. Despite her state of undress there was no doubt in Yang's mind that she would have come out on top. Blake was a good martial artist, but her strategies focused on hit and run attacks. She wouldn't be able to hold her own in a straight up brawl.

It would have been over quickly, but Blake wouldn't have given in lightly. Yang would have been forced to hurt her badly enough that she was unable to follow. That wouldn't have sat well with her.

"Blake move!" Her jaw jutted.

"Tell me what you're going to do?"

"I'm going to rescue them!"

"How?"

"I…" The question robbed Yang of some of her fire. She hadn't thought that far ahead. "It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does." This time Blake's voice rose. "I get that you want to help them but we don't know anything. What were you going to do? March up to the Eburnean House and fight anyone who gets in your way? You're not even dressed!"

_Well obviously she wasn't going to go and commit a prison break in a towel._

"You don't even know if they're there. They could be anywhere across the city."

That part at least was true. "So what I just sit here!" Yang spat.

"Yes!" Blake seemed exasperated that it had taken this long to break through. "You sit here, and you think."

"Think about what?"

"Think about everything." Blake began to speak more softly. "Don't you think there is something wrong with this entire thing?"

_Something wrong?_  The White Fang had her dad and uncle. "What are you on about?"

"Don't you think it's suspicious that they held a press conference? That they announced it? They didn't do this for any of the other successes they've had against us."

"So? They weren't the leaders. Or maybe it's because they're hunters. They're high profile."

"But why move them to Vale? They could have kept them on Patch." Blake was obviously trying to lead her to a conclusion that Yang just couldn't see.

"You heard them, they want to have a trial."

"They haven't given anyone else a trial."

"Blake just spit it out!" Yang ran out of patience.

"I don't think we got away with the apartment like we thought we did. I think Adam knows I'm here." There was trepidation and fear in her voice.

"What?"

"It's a trap. He must know you're with me and that they're related to you. That's the only reason he brought them back here. They're bait. To try and get me."

Yang couldn't believe what she was hearing. "The whole world doesn't revolve around you!" Blake flinched at the venom in her voice. "Sometimes, as shocking as it is, things can actually happen without  _you_  being involved Blake!"

"I know that!" Blake voice rose to match Yang's. "But this doesn't add up. It's all too convenient. You've got to admit that."

"Convenient? They have dad."

"Exactly, they have  _your_  dad. And rather than just kill him like every other member of the Resistance they've found, they not only managed to somehow take two trained hunters alive, but they've brought them back to Vale. To the place where  _you_  would feel obliged to rescue them. Why else would they waste resources trying to capture them if it wasn't somehow about something more?"

That was the only point Yang found herself agreeing on. She didn't have a clue how they'd managed to apprehend them. Her dad was good when he wasn't completely off his face, but Qrow was a prodigy even when he was. Especially with the home advantage of Patch, there was no way the White Fang should have been able to capture them. But then again, as they'd learned at the apartment, even hunters could be beaten.

"They want to be seen to be doing something. That's the only reason they're going through with this  _trial._ " Yang had no doubts that it would be a trial in name only. "And of course they're having it in Vale."

"It's still too much. Only a couple of days after the raid they take your family into custody? They'd know you would try and rescue them."

"You keep saying that, but how on Remnant would they know we're both here? Let's say Torchwick is wrong and they did somehow recognise you. Even though all they would have had to go on was a cat Faunus with amber eyes. How would they recognise me? I haven't used my Semblance and look completely different. You do as well. And yet I'm supposed to believe that both of us have been compromised."

"Yes." Blake was exasperated. "They know we had at least some form of hunter training to overcome that many, and that we're young. It's not a massive leap of faith for them to guess about me. Few enough Faunus make it to a combat school. And if they know about me, why wouldn't my partner at Beacon be with me? They're not stupid. A bit of dye isn't going to fool them."

"They why haven't they been looking for us? I even got searched. Don't you think they would have been told to watch out for someone matching my appearance?"

"I don't know. A lot of what Adam does doesn't make sense to most people. He's pretty close to insane, but he also managed to capture an entire kingdom. If he knows I'm back here he'll do anything to find me."

It always came back to Adam. As much as Blake claimed he was obsessed with her, the feeling went both ways. It might not have been love from Blake's end anymore, but he was almost always in her thoughts.

"Why though? So he thought he loved you, would he really be obsessed enough to do this after all this time?"

"Yes," Blake said succinctly.

"Tell me why?"

"Because he's a sociopathic loner and I was the only person he ever opened up to. Because we fucked." Blake spat the word out clearly disgusted at herself. "Because he thinks I still love him. Because I betrayed him. Because we nearly… we nearly had something together." Blake added covering up the minutest pause. "Pick a reason. I know how his mind works, and I'm telling you that if he knows I'm here, he will do anything to have me stand in front of him again.

"He would have killed anyone else in a heartbeat when I fought him, not me though. I can pretty much guarantee the White Fang have orders to take me alive no matter the cost." Blake's voice fell. "I won't let that happen."

It was a sentiment that Yang could agree with, though by comparison her suffering would likely be over quickly. If what she said was true, Blake would not be so lucky.

"But that's why I can't sit here while they have my dad and Qrow. Even if it is a trap, I have to try. I would do the same for you or anyone else."

"I'm not saying you shouldn't. I never said you shouldn't. You wouldn't be you if you didn't try. I just didn't want you to rush in and do something stupid. I wanted you to calm down and think and come up with a plan. Are you calm now?"

Yang grudgingly nodded. She wasn't exactly calm, but she could at least think. "Yes. I still don't believe you though."

Blake stood upright with some of the tension escaping from her previously tense body. "I know I'm right, but you don't have to. We just have to take it into account when we make a plan."

"We? You'll help?"

"Of course I'll help," Blake said indignantly. "Did you think I wasn't going to?"

Had she? Perhaps when Blake had seemed so insistent on stopping her she had, she couldn't say that though.

"No, it's just…"

"You did." Blake was clearly hurt by the discovery.

"No, it's just… after everything we've gone through since we got here, I wasn't sure," she finished limply.

"When have I ever given you reason to believe that? Every time I was putting myself at risk, so the rest of you wouldn't have to. You might not have liked what I did," her voice cracked. "But someone had to do it. So do not tell me that I don't care about you or your family."

They hadn't ever gone here. Just what had been going through Blake's mind while they'd been drifting further and further apart. It had simply been easy to ignore it. To try and pretend it didn't happen and move on from there. Yang hadn't wanted to know. Now she did.

The thought made her sick. It was bad enough what Blake had made her do to Corvo, but to somehow lay everything else on her shoulders as well… She understood that Blake might have believed that if someone had to die it would be better for it to be by her ̶ ̶ in her opinion already sullied ̶ ̶ hand. It was stupid notion; it was one of a martyr, but that was how sometimes how Blake was.

The thing Blake didn't get, was that if it was up to Yang, then no one would have died. They had had options, maybe they were more difficult, but in the end they were the better ones. Blake had taken the decision to kill entirely by herself, and without informing any of them. She didn't get to put that on anyone else. It was her burden to bear no matter what she told herself.

Yang wasn't cruel enough to say that to her though. Not when they'd only just started on the path to recovery. It was easier to leave the past dead and buried, even if it wasn't healthy.

"I'm not saying that." Yang shrugged. "I… I don't know. Just with Adam… and everything else. You saying it's a trap. I didn't know if you were willing to risk yourself. I should have known better."

"Yes you should. I'm going to help. And I'm sure Coco, Velvet, and SSSN will as well as long as you ask them." Blake failed to keep the resentment out of her voice as she mentioned Coco. After her confession it was clear Coco no longer entirely trusted her. As a team they were functional and overly polite towards each other, but that was about it. "Torchwick I'm not so sure about."

Yang wasn't either. He likely wouldn't put anything above  _the mission_. He hadn't even had the decency to tell her that her dad and Qrow were still alive. Their only options were to either convince him that rescuing them would do enough damage to the White Fang to justify the risk, or to ignore him and plan it on their own. As long as they were doing something, either way worked for Yang.

"So how do we go about this?" When it came to planning operations she was happy to defer to Blake's experience. Just so long as it avoided casualties. Not that she was naïve enough to believe there wasn't the possibility of them. Not when her dad and Qrow would be guarded by some of the White Fang elite. When this many people with hunter level abilities came head to head outside of structured combat, fatalities were only to be expected. Her only hope was that she wouldn't be responsible for the death of one or more of her friends. That guilt would destroy her.

"You get dressed first." Blake's small smile failed to lift Yang's mood, but at least the attempt was there.

"Yeah I guess." She gave herself a visual inspection. The time and her increased body temperature had ensured the water had evaporated, but it had left streaks of soap all over her flesh in its wake. "Then what?"

"Then we get into contact with the others and sit down. They'll likely have seen the broadcast as well." There was still a part of Yang that wanted to rush out there and do it now. Blake sensed her impatience and urgency. "It's ok Yang, we have time. They won't do anything to them before the trial. Not if they want it to be public. We can use that time well. Work out a plan with less chance of going wrong."

Yang didn't quite believe her. She knew that her dad and Qrow were likely being tortured for information. There were plenty of ways of causing pain without leaving a permanent mark. The cruel irony was not lost on her. She'd been given a first-hand demonstration of White Fang techniques, and now they were being carried out on her blood.

But Blake was right. As hard as it was for her they needed to take their time. Rushing in would only increase the probability of failure and of one or more of her friends being killed.

"Well, I better put some clothes on." Yang sniffed the air. "I think dinner's ruined as well." If Blake had noticed the pot boiling over in the midst of their argument she hadn't thought it worth stopping.

Blake gave it a glance before turning back. "We might be able to rescue it," she paused for a moment before looking deep into her eyes. "Yang I know we've had our problems recently, but no matter what, I want you to remember that I will be here for you. For anything you need. I've never had many friends, and you're my best one ever. You're sometimes the only person who I feel actually understands me."

Her embrace was clumsy and almost felt unnatural to Yang. And it wasn't because she was naked but for a towel. She'd never been all that ashamed about nudity like some people. She'd been more than willing to walk out into their full dorm room in her underwear to fetch a change of clothes. It was more because they had touched so readily and frequently at Beacon, whereas now it was a rarity.

Yang understood and appreciated the sentiment that Blake was trying to reinforce though. She squeezed back with her free arm.

"Thank you," Yang whispered into Blake's ear. They held on for a few seconds longer before breaking apart. "Right, the sooner we eat the sooner we can get started. Can you handle that?" she pointed to the mess and fire risk in their tiny kitchenette.

"Sure," Blake had already started to clean up as Yang closed the door to the bathroom.

Once it was locked, once she was out of Blake's sight. The façade she'd been wearing crumbled. She rested her forehead against the peeling paint on the door. Her inner rage was matched only by her feeling of utter helplessness.

Like everything these days, the situation was just so much larger than her. In her life before she'd always been able to come up with a solution by herself. Whether it was as simple as doing the week's shopping, or dealing with someone who was bullying Ruby, she'd always been able to rely on her own strength.

Now she just couldn't. There was no way she would have been able to free her dad and Qrow by herself. She wouldn't be able to defeat dozens of White Fang. Even four had proved too many for her. All through Signal and her first terms of Beacon she'd believed that as a hunter she'd never have to feel weak again. Now the world had repeatedly taught her the lesson that her belief had been arrogance of the highest order.

It wouldn't stop her though. She dropped her towel and stepped back into the shower drawing the curtain shut. She couldn't let it stop her. Not when Ruby needed her.

She missed her sister more than she thought was possible. It was a steady and nauseating ache. The forced separation was the longest they'd ever had to endure. Even at Signal she'd phoned Ruby almost every night to ensure that their dad was looking after her, and she'd only ever been a short bus ride away.

Now she was on a different continent and there were no lines of communication. At least she was safe though, and happy. Weiss would see to that. Even if she hadn't been sure about Weiss to begin with, Yang was glad that Ruby had found someone who clearly loved her. Those two were made for each other no matter what. If the worst happened and she didn't make it out of Vale, it was good to know that Weiss would be there for Ruby.

It was bad for her, but Yang had to admit that, in this sense, it was easier for her. She knew that Ruby was in no danger whatsoever, whereas Ruby wouldn't have been able to say the same. Yang hoped with all her being that Ruby wasn't dwelling on thoughts of what could be happening in Vale.

It was almost a relief that Ruby likely wouldn't find out about the current situation. It would have tormented her. Ruby loved both her dad and Qrow immensely. With her sister there for her, she'd never realised just how much they'd neglected her after the death of their mum.

Yang knew that while she still loved them in her own way, she had to save them for Ruby. If something happened to them and Ruby found out she'd had the chance to prevent it… Yang didn't want to think about what the consequences to that would have been. It was too painful.

"I won't fail you Ruby," Yang whispered in a solemn pledge to the ether.

She reached forward and turned up the heat as high as it would go. It might only have been a dribble, but the temperature was close to scalding. Steam erupted from wherever it landed. Yang gritted her teeth as fire ran along her nerves. The searing pain on her skin helped mask the pain in her heart.

 

 


	27. Chapter 27

“Nora,” Ren said tiredly laying his fingers on Nora’s dejected shoulder as the door shut in their faces, “Let’s go home.”

“Nuh-uh.” Nora shrugged away from his touch and marched off. Just as Ren had known she would.

It wasn’t in her nature to give up. Not for something as important as this. Even if they’d been at it all day, Nora would carry on all night if she had to. Ren honestly didn’t think it worth the effort. They were chasing a ghost after all.

It was sad that was what he thought of Pyrrha, but she may as well have been dead. She might actually have been. Ever since that night all those months ago when she’d simply vanished they hadn’t heard so much as a word from her.

He could recognise that Pyrrha hadn’t been thinking properly. In the days after they’d escaped from Vale the effect of Jaune’s death on her had been only too plain. She’d barely been functional. It wasn’t surprising, and she hadn’t been alone.

There were very few who had managed to escape without losing someone. Her expression had been mirrored all those around her. He was sure it had been on his face as well. It had certainly been on Nora’s.

Her life had already been full of so much heartbreak, the additional had almost broken her. Since the deaths of their parents she’d clung to him as she’d clung to all her friends. It was her belief that if she just held on tightly enough she wouldn’t have to suffer again.

The world didn’t work that way. Jaune had been ripped from her grasp, all their grasps, and it had hurt. All the old wounds were torn open again. He’d been the best of them. He might not have been as skilful as the rest of them. He might not have excelled in classes. But he’d been the heart of their team.

A heart that been torn out. Ren had tried to remain strong for the other two. He’d tried to give them a shoulder to cry on. God knows they’d both needed it. But it had been dreadfully hard. Jaune had been his friend too. Ren had learned to mask his pain, not make it disappear.

He’d managed to hold them all together until they got back to Atlas. Right up until the point that a crying Nora had woken him with the news that Pyrrha had gone. He realised now he should have seen it. Seen the signs.

Pyrrha had changed in the days prior. She’d stopped crying. Started eating again. Even started training. He’d hoped she’d been moving on to her next stage of her grieving process. Now he knew he’d been wrong.

She’d instead settled on some sort of plan. Some way of coping. What it was he couldn’t say. It had involved abandoning her team though, abandoning Nora when she was hurting more than ever. To Ren that was the one thing that might have been close to unforgivable.

The problem was, though they’d looked, no one knew where she was. She hadn’t been in contact with her parents who’d been frantic with worry. They’d only heard what had happened in Vale on the news. Pyrrha’s name had been on the list of those who’d evacuated but that was it. They hadn’t known if she was wounded or worse.

It was a heavy burden that had been placed on Ren when he’d called to inform that while their daughter had escaped relatively unharmed, she was now missing. It was not the way he’d have chosen to be introduced to one of his friend’s parents. At least they’d understood it wasn’t his fault, and had promised to inform him if she got in touch, eliciting the same promise from him.

Pyrrha hadn’t been in contact with anyone else from Beacon either. To ease the burden of the tens of thousands of refugees, they’d all been distributed across Atlas. Their freighter had ended up in Calypso.

It was an interesting city; one that at another time he would have been only too pleased to explore all the markets and the gothic quarters with their claustrophobic cobbled streets. He’d never had the money to visit Atlas before, but they hadn’t been there on a vacation.

They’d barely left the surplus barracks where they’d ended up before Pyrrha had disappeared. They’d barely done anything apart from grieve. Pyrrha had changed that. It had been difficult to contact most of their old classmates.

A large proportion of the numbers in his scroll simply didn’t work anymore. The person either not being able to connect to the Atlas network or them having lost their scroll somewhere. Of course there were some names he simply didn’t click on.

Since that time he and Nora had at least been kept busy. It was more for their own sake than the pay that they’d agreed to help train some of Atlas’ new conscripts. Nora might have wanted to chase after Pyrrha, but he’d had to hold her back. Not that they’d really had a choice in the decision when they’d been conscripted. Not unless they went AWOL like Pyrrha.

When Nora set her mind on something she didn’t let the reality of the situation stop her. They might not have had the slightest clue as to where Pyrrha had gone, but for Nora that she was gone was all that mattered. And her friends should have been searching for her. If it were up to her they would have gone up to every single person in Atlas and asked if they’d seen someone with red hair. As futile as the notion was it would have made her feel as if she were doing something.

And now they were. As for its futility, the jury was still out. This time Nora hadn’t given him the chance to deny her; she’d simply told him what they were going to do. It had been a text message that had triggered it all. One from an unknown number, but with the potent words: _It’s Pyrrha, I need your help._

After that Nora simply wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Especially not when the message had cut off before she’d managed to give her full address. It had only included the district of the city ̶ ̶ fortune was favouring them in that it was in the same one where they were training troops ̶ ̶ and a single letter of the next line. Not that the lack of information was enough to deter Nora.

That was why they’d spent the entirety of the day literally going door to door with a photo of Pyrrha. Unsurprisingly it was a search that had not proved fruitful. The population density of Calypso was simply too high for such a random tactic to be an effective.

The people who lived here saw thousands of people in a day, and though Pyrrha was certainly a striking figure, the photos they were showing may not have borne any resemblance to her. Pyrrha had chosen to disappear, and that meant that she hadn’t wanted to be found. It wouldn’t have been out of the question for her to have changed her appearance entirely.

If that was the case, the pair of them were just wasting their time. Time that couldn’t be afford to be wasted. The unit they’d been helping to train, units all over Atlas, were mobilising. Ren had seen the evidence even if they hadn’t been told yet. Bullheads and larger airships landed and didn’t leave. Trucks full of supplies arrived at their base daily and not just rations. Ammunition, explosives, triage equipment, it all pointed to one thing.

The war that Atlas had promised in retaliation for the attack in Vale and the bombing of Tintagel Castle was coming. Likely within the next few days they, and all the other specialists, would be sat down and given their orders. Orders which would probably see the full military strength of Atlas being demonstrated on a scale that it had not been for decades.

And Vale would bear its brunt. He didn’t know what changes the White Fang would have made to the defences of the city, but they surely weren’t enough. They couldn’t be enough to halt what was coming.

But they hadn’t received any orders for this day. The next door in the hall swung open in answer to Nora’s hammering.

“Yes,” the man said tiredly. Judging by his smart but sloppy attire he’d been relaxing after a long day at the office.

“Hi.” Somehow Nora voice was still full of an energy that had been lacking before the message. It was as though the call for help had completely reinvigorated her. “Have you seen this woman?” She held up a flyer.

“Isn’t that Pyrrha Nikos?” The man said after a few seconds.

“You know her?” Nora almost bounced off the roof in excitement.

“Didn’t she win the Mistral Regional Tournament like… five times in a row? She’s was on cereal boxes for a while.”

Nora visibly deflated. “You mean you haven’t seen her around?”

“No.” The man looked at her bemused. “Why would she be in Atlas?”

“Oh… If you see her please call me.” Nora sounded dejected as she passed him a flyer.

“Sure, whatever. Is that all?”

“Yes… thank you for your time.” Ren put his hand on Nora’s shoulder again as the scene he’d seen played out so many times was repeated. Nora’s lips were quivering and she almost seemed as if she was going to start weeping. The ascent and plummet of her emotions in the past minute was clearly pushing her towards the edge.

“Nora…” Ren tried to think of an argument that would sway her, but he was too tired. “Let’s stop and go home.”

“No.” Nora pulled away from him and began marching towards the stairs. He grabbed her more forcibly. If he allowed her to Nora would do this until she collapsed.

“She’s not here.”

“She is. She said she was.”

“We’ve been looking all day, and we haven’t found anything.”

“Well we’ve got to keep looking until we do then. She needs us!” Nora stressed the last bit. The frustration at being unable to help a friend who’d asked for it was evident.

“Nora, we don’t even know if that message was from her.” Ren voiced the thought he’d had from the very start.

“What? Pyrrha said she sent it.”

“No it said ‘It’s Pyrrha,’ there’s a difference. If she really needed help don’t you think she would have told us where to find her?”

“She got interrupted.”

“And she hasn’t sent another message in hours. Why wouldn’t she?”

“Because she’s not able to.”

“Or maybe because she didn’t sent that message in the first place. Someone else did.”

“But… why would someone do that?”

“Because they thought it was funny to send us chasing a ghost.”

“She’s not a ghost! She’s alive!” Nora shouted at him.

Ren felt like hitting himself. That had been the worst choice of words. He hadn’t meant it like that. He sought to placate her. “No, I think she is too. But Nora, we’re not going to find her. Calypso is too big.”

His words struck home. Nora knew that too. She just couldn’t bear not to be doing anything.

“Why don’t we go and get something to eat? We passed a good-looking restaurant earlier. My treat.”

It was indicative of how badly this was all affecting Nora that she didn’t jump at the chance of food. She was gaunter these days. The metabolism that had insured she was able to swallow down stacks of pancakes every morning without altering her healthy figure was now stripping the fat from her. Even his handmade pancakes failed to get a rise out of her anymore.

“No. We can’t give up.” Her jaw jutted as she made the resolute statement.

Ren sought a compromise. “Why don’t we do two more buildings, and then get something to eat? We can see how we feel after. Is that fair?”

To his relief Nora nodded but added. “Three buildings.”

It was as good as he was going to get. “Three buildings, and then we eat.” He made that firm; there wouldn’t be another alteration.

“Ok,” Nora said, the slightest spring having returned to her step as she bounded and Ren trudged down the stairs.

The neighbourhood they were in wasn’t the nicest one, but it wasn’t the worst either. It was full of single apartments for young people on the first few rungs of the career ladder. Despite how he doubted Pyrrha had sent the message, he had to admit it would be the perfect place for someone their age to lie low.

As they walked through a darkened alley down the side of the next apartment building Ren kept his senses alive. He didn’t really expect to be attacked, not in the middle of a district like this, but after Vale he’d learned not to take chances.

Nora probably would have enjoyed a fight. Something to distract her. They were both armed, she’d seen to that. If Pyrrha was in trouble she wanted to be able to help no matter what the problem was.

The outer door of the apartment building wasn’t locked. The lobby was small, though the floor was clean. There was a wall full of mailboxes, an elevator, some stairs, and a corridor to the ground floor apartments. That was where Nora headed, prepared to the repeat the thing they’d been doing all day.

Ren had to avoid sighing every time a door was shut in their faces. Instead, he at least hoped he was putting on an encouraging act for Nora’s sake. This was hard enough on her without him bringing her down as well. He hated to see her downbeat; it just went up against every facet of the person who she actually was. Too often these days her customary grin of mischief was missing.

Some of her knocks went unanswered. The occasional person was out, but this late in the evening most were in. Nora’s body language deteriorated more and more until they found out the final resident in the building was unable to assist their search. Nora just appeared defeated.

“Maybe someone across the street will know something.” Ren’s voice carried an optimism that was entirely fictional.

It was enough for Nora though, she latched onto his words. “Yeah, good call.”

They began again. Ren hadn’t expected to get anywhere, so it came much to his surprise when a woman wearing nurse’s scrubs on the second floor didn’t immediately shut down Nora’s question.

“No…” Nora began to turn away. “Actually,” Nora’s eyes lit up, “I might have seen someone who looks like that.”

Ren could tell Nora very much wanted to shake the perhaps vital information out of the woman, but she managed to restrain herself. Even so her overly enthusiastic reaction caused the nurse to shrink back. “You’ve seen her!”

“I mean… I might have,” she now seemed even more unsure of herself. “I was heading out for my shift and it was dark. She was wearing a hoody, but yeah… At the time I thought I recognised her from somewhere. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. That’s Pyrrha Nikos though isn’t it?” The nurse gestured at the photo.

“Yes,” Nora was bouncing on her toes. “You’ve seen her here? Where’s she staying?”

“I don’t know we didn’t talk. I would guess one of the upper floors. There’s been a lot of new people who moved in recently.”

Nora raced off to the stairs. “Thank you,” she called over her shoulder.

Ren sought to ease the nurses bemused expression. “Thanks, this means a lot to us.”

“She’s not in trouble or anything is she?”

“No. We’re just a little worried about her.” That was somewhat of an understatement.

The nurse gave him a knowing look. “Ah… boyfriend trouble. We’ve all been there.”

“Uh, something like that.” He very much doubted it was like the nurse was suggesting, though root of the problem was undoubtedly Jaune. “Thank you again. I better go help look.”

“I hope you find her. You’re good friends for doing this.”

Ren nodded and hurried off. Even from the floor below he could hear Nora pounding on doors in her anticipation and excitement.

“Calm down,” he said when he caught up to her.

“But she’s here!”

“We don’t know that. I don’t want you to get your hopes up only to be disappointed again.” It wasn’t the first time they’d had someone say they might have seen Pyrrha. Admittedly they hadn’t been as sure as the nurse, but then again the nurse hadn’t been all that confident.

“No this is different. I can feel it. I know she’s here.”

Nora knocked on the next couple of doors. At least with him present she’d stopped trying to bash them down.

On the next floor up one there was no answer to her pounding. Nora went up on her tiptoes to be able to peek through the peephole. She stayed that way for a moment before increasing the ferocity of her attack. “Pyrrha I know you’re in there!”

“Nora what are you doing!” Ren caught her wrist to stop the racket and pulled her away. “The owner just isn’t in. It doesn’t mean Pyrrha’s in there.”

“I saw someone.”

“You’re probably just imagining it.”

“No it was her. I’ll prove it,” she pulled her scroll out and started to dial the number which had sent the text.

Ren let go. Nora was just overexcited and not thinking straight. Perhaps she’d prove to herself that she was ̶ ̶

A phone went off. Right in the apartment they were standing outside of. It was quickly silenced, but he’d heard it. And so had Nora.

“See,” her beaming grin was entirely justified. “Pyrrha open the door this instant! Or I’m going to bash it down.” Nora was completely serious. “One… Two… Th ̶ ̶ ”

The lock rattled and the door opened as far as the safety chain would allow.

Ren almost didn’t recognise the face that appeared in the gap. The months had not been kind on Pyrrha. Nora may have lost some weight; Pyrrha had lost an awful lot more. Her cheekbones were as sharp as knives and there were deep bags under her eyes. Pyrrha looked seriously unwell. She hadn’t been taking care of herself in the slightest.

“Pyrrha!” Nora flung out her arms as if she were going to hug her despite the obstructions still in her way. She either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care about Pyrrha’s haggard appearance, all she knew was that she’d found her friend.

“Did you come alone?” Pyrrha hissed at them.

“No, Ren’s with me.” Nora pointed at him.

“I can see that. Did you two come alone? Were you followed?” Pyrrha’s eyes were flicking up and down the corridor behind them.

_Followed?_ Just what had Pyrrha got herself caught up in?

“Umm…” Nora was confused by the less than enthusiastic greeting they were receiving after they’d spent so long searching for her. “I don’t think so. Ren?”

“We weren’t followed.” He was sure of that. If someone had really been following them from apartment block to apartment block all day he would have noticed. “Can we come in?”

Pyrrha considered it; she actually considered saying no. It was enough to make even Ren lose his cool. They’d been worried sick, Nora literally. They’d spent who knew how long searching for her, listening out for the slightest bit of news that might have given them a hint that she was still alive, and now she was greeting them like this. If she shut that door he would join Nora in kicking it down.

Pyrrha muttered to herself under her breath. Ren wasn’t able to make out the words exactly, but it was as if she were having a conversation with herself. That was the most worrying thing so far. If she had problems with criminals or something they could handle it. Not eating enough, not sleeping enough, they were bad, but they could help with that too. Mental issues were something he didn’t even begin to know how to approach.

Eventually Pyrrha settled on a consensus, although it had taken long enough for Nora to calm down. Now her worried expression undoubtedly mirrored the one on his face.

“Quickly.” Pyrrha unlocked the chain before waving them in. She stuck her head out into the corridor and checked both directions before closing it.

The apartment was not how Ren had expected. It was unmistakably a bachelor pad going by the posters of half-naked girls on the walls and its general untidiness. Not at all like a place that he would have imagined Pyrrha to be staying. She’d always been fastidious in her cleanliness. He was forced to reconsider the nurse’s words. Was Pyrrha on a rebound and staying with a boyfriend?

“Whose is this place?” he asked her. Being able to see her full body didn’t improve his outlook on her health. She was wearing loose black clothes, rather than the bright colours she’d always favoured before.

Pyrrha shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s on holiday.”

“You mean you broke in?” Nora asked horrified. As much as she often advocated violence she was a stickler for the law.

“Yes,” Pyrrha said nonchalantly to a gasp. “But what are you doing here? How did you find me?”

“Uhh… You sent us a text telling us you needed help,” Nora said slowly.

The effect of such simple words couldn’t have been more dramatic. When training Ren had always known that Pyrrha was at least a level above him. Not that she’d ever lorded it over them. Instead, she’d always been willing to offer advice to help them improve. They all had done. But, if he’d ever had the notion that the gap between them had shrunk, in those few moments, it was roughly disabused.

Something unassailable wrenched against his belt, against StormFlower which was strapped to his wrists, against the spare magazines, and threw him back against the wall. It happened in a flash. One instant he was having a conversation, the next he was shaking stars out of his eyes.

The same had happened to Nora. She’d slammed into the plaster with enough force to cause a spider web of cracks to erupt. Pyrrha advanced on her. A long bladed knife leapt from the kitchen, whistling through the air heading straight at Nora. A hand stopped it a hair’s breadth from the skin of her throat.

“He sent you didn’t he?” Pyrrha growled at her, a forearm pressed against Nora, leaving her feet dangling.

Nora didn’t respond. Couldn’t respond after the person she’d put so much effort into finding had responded by attacking her. There was pure confusion and hurt on her face.

Ren tried to come to her defence. He wrenched himself from where he was pinned. Fighting against a force that was undoubtedly a result of Pyrrha’s Semblance, but at the same time was so much more powerful than she’d ever demonstrated before. It felt as if an Ursa was trying to keep him restrained.

He managed it though. For Nora. He started towards the pair of them. “Pyrrha! What the hell are you doing!” She was clearly out of her mind.

Without Pyrrha turning her head the glass and metal coffee table that was the centrepiece of the room flung itself at him. He attempted to leap from its path, but it still caught him. Shards of glass showered the room.

Ren could barely breathe. One of the metal legs had crashed into his ribs. If he hadn’t flared his Aura they would have been reduced to splinters. Pyrrha had actually almost killed him. He wanted to rise, to stop her, to save Nora, but all he could do was wheeze through the redness.

Pyrrha didn’t deign what she’d done worthy of a glance. Instead she increased the pressure of the knife on Nora’s neck. “Where is he?”

Nora’s eyes were wide and blubbering. And they were afraid. She couldn’t bring herself to fight her friend, no matter what said friend was doing to her. “Who?” she choked out.

“Joseph!” Pyrrha screamed. Actually screamed. The agony in her voice was palpable.

“I... I…”

“We don’t know who that is!” Ren managed to draw enough air into his lungs to get that out. Enraged like this, Pyrrha could very well kill both of them. He didn’t understand what was causing it, but he knew that she terrified him.

“Stop lying! He sent you here. He’s been following me.”

“Pyrrha…” Nora was shaking. “You asked us for help.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did. I have the message.”

“You were manipulated. I don’t want your help. I don’t need your help. And you might very well have killed us all.”

Nora was only focussed on one part of that statement. “You don’t want our help. But… but we’re teammates.”

The knife lifted from her throat by a fraction. “JNPR’s gone,” Pyrrha said cruelly.

The words appeared to hurt Nora more than anything Pyrrha done so far. “But we’re friends.”

The declaration despite everything had an effect. Pyrrha closed her eyes and muttered something to herself. Removing the knife and her arm she let Nora slide down the wall. “And that’s why you shouldn’t be here. He knew that and used you to get to me.”

Ren managed to crawl his way over to Nora. Apart from looking shaken, her Aura seemed to have protected her from the blade. She clung to him. “You keep saying that. Who is he?”

“Joseph,” Pyrrha spat his name as though they should know.

Ren didn’t. He’d only known one Joseph in his life and he doubted Pyrrha was speaking about a farmer from the village where he’d grown up. “Who’s that? You have to explain.” While Nora cried against him he manoeuvred his body to shield her from Pyrrha. He wouldn’t let her be hurt again.

“He runs Enerdyne.”

_Enerdyne? The pharmaceutical producer? Why would Pyrrha…_

His thoughts trailed off as they settled on the key one. “Weren’t they the ones who…” he didn’t want to finish it.

“Yes!” Pyrrha practically screamed it at him. “He was the bastard who created Penny. Who killed Jaune!” The anguish ripped from her.

For the first time Ren understood. It all made sense. He understood why she’d disappeared. He understood her haggard and neglected appearance. He even understood their greeting. Pyrrha had let her pain consume her until there was nothing else left. And it that abyss of agony, it had mutated into hate. Absolute and all-encompassing hate that only had one outlet.

He didn’t want to think about what Pyrrha had done. A rogue hunter was considered a major problem anywhere on the planet. One as strong as her, acting without restraint, could have caused unimaginable damage.

She was even consumed enough to turn against the people who had made up a team that had at one time been so close-knit. Pyrrha was damaged, likely beyond repair.

“Pyrrha you sent us that message not him. You asked us for help.”

“I didn’t.” The lights flickered.

“Check your phone. You’ll find it. How do you think we got your number?”

Pyrrha snatched it up. It was clear to Ren the moment she found the unexpected.

“See?” he said.

Pyrrha started to talk to herself. It wasn’t as if she had multiple personalities ̶ ̶ though he wouldn’t have been surprised if that disorder was compounding her problems ̶ ̶ more it was simply that having been alone and on edge for so long, she’d lost the buffer where normal people don’t voice their internal thoughts.

She seemed to come to a conclusion. “I didn’t send it. Enerdyne control everything. They must have hacked it… or… or one of their agents broke in and sent it.”

It was clear that even she didn’t believe her reasoning. Ren certainly didn’t.

“Or maybe it was a cry for help, and you don’t remember sending it. Do you really think someone broke in here just to use your phone?”

“No… I would have remembered.”

This was killing him inside, to see her friend fallen so far. “Pyrrha,” he asked sadly, “Can you even remember what you’ve eaten today?”

“Yes. It was… I had…” It was so painful but he couldn’t let up. Pyrrha needed help. She turned her back on him. “It doesn’t matter. Enerdyne are still out there.”

Ren slowly and cautiously got to his feet. “Pyrrha I don’t know what you’ve been doing, but nothing will bring Jaune back.”

Pyrrha rounded on him. “Do you think I don’t know that!” They were plunged into near darkness as the lightbulb burned out. “Do you think I don’t spend every single moment knowing that he is gone!” The TV sparked and metal objects all over the apartment began to shake. “That I don’t miss him every second that I’m awake? That I’m asleep? That I don’t see and hear him everywhere? I know he’s dead! He’d dead because of me! The only thing I can do is stop his killers from putting anyone else through the pain that’s my existence.

“And that means stopping Enerdyne. Finding Joseph. Ripping Penny limb from limb. Vale fell because of them. All those deaths can be traced back to her. You have absolutely no idea how the world really works. What they’re actually doing.”

She scared him. Ren didn’t mind admitting that. He’d never seen this side of her. The side that was so close to lashing out at the slightest provocation. The side with her Semblance flaring out of control. With her out of control.

“They’re everywhere. They control everything. The TV, the radio, everything is their way of manipulating us. You saw that with what they did to you. The girl who served you breakfast, she works for them, reports everything you do. The postman, the shop assistant. They’re all reporting back. I can barely go anywhere without running into them. That’s the kind of power they have. They’re bigger than this city, bigger than countries. They’ve been controlling everything for who knows how long.”

It was the raving of a madwoman. Of someone who’d completely lost touch with reality. Someone who’d been living with danger for so long they saw it absolutely everywhere. In her grief and anger Pyrrha had needed an enemy she believed absolved her of her guilt. When one hadn’t appeared, she’d invented one. To her it was no longer Enerdyne, it was some kind of super organisation with cross-continental reach. It was the only way she could cope.

Nora now stood behind him too. She was just as affected by the damage that had been done to their friend as he was. “We can help Pyrrha. We can stop them if you just talk to us.” Ren started, that wasn’t the course of reasoning he would have chosen, but it might just work better.

“I don’t want your help! I don’t want you anywhere near this. You don’t know what I’ve had to do to get this far.” Ren didn’t like that sound of that one bit. “At the moment you’re not involved. They’re happy to let you go about your lives. You’re insulated. Just by coming here you’ve made yourselves targets. I didn’t want that.”

“But we’re here now and we’re not going to leave without an explanation,” Nora said taking a step forward. “We’ve missed you. I’ve missed you. I needed you and you left me.”

“I… I…” Whatever constituted for the mess that was Pyrrha’s current psyche was not prepared for this.

“I know you didn’t mean it, but it hurt me. Can you understand that?” Pyrrha didn’t respond. “So tell me why? Tell me why you can’t just leave it all and come back with us?”

“Haven’t you been listening? There is no safe place. No place that they can’t reach. It’s not going to be over until I finish this, or I’m dead. One or the other. You’re not prepared for that. I don’t want you involved.”

“It’s too late now, so why don’t you explain?”

“There’s no time to explain. I’ve already spent too long here. They would have followed you here. They could be coming at this very moment.”

Ren shook his head. She was paranoid to the point of psychosis. She needed help. Actual professional medical help. As much as he didn’t want to think it she needed to be institutionalised. For her own safety and others.

“Pyrrha we weren’t followed, and if we were we’ll help you fight them. Won’t we Ren?”

“Uhh… yeah.” He wouldn’t. If the police turned up his efforts would be full trying to contain her so she didn’t kill anyone. He didn’t much fancy his chances in that case. As she’d proved earlier, in all their training matches she’d been holding back. It was still unbelievable to him that her unrestrained Semblance was that strong.

“See? We have a little time. Start from the beginning.”

Pyrrha eyes flittered around the apartment as she had another conversation with herself. The other pair tried to avoid catching each other’s worried gazes.

“Fine, five minutes. Then I’ve got to get out of here and you’ve got to pretend that you never found me.”

They nodded even though neither had any intention of letting Pyrrha go.

“What do you know of Penny?” How much Pyrrha hated her was evident in the way she said her name.

“Umm… she’s an android,” Nora answered.

“And? What’s she capable of doing?”

It took Ren a moment to realise what Pyrrha wanted them to say. “Generating an Aura.”

“How?”

That was something that Ren didn’t know. No one did. Enerdyne had only released a short announcement video before her first fight. It hadn’t gone into details about just what she was.

“She has a soul?” Nora ventured.

“Does she?”

Nora looked at him for help, but all he could do was shrug. He honestly had no idea. Sure he’d talked to Penny. She’d been a little weird, but he’d had no idea she was a robot before the announcement. She hadn’t seemed like a soulless machine, just a slightly eccentric girl.

“She does,” Pyrrha answered for them. “But they couldn’t create one. That was what puzzled me when they made the announcement. Just how could they create something so abstract? A body yes, a soul no. Penny isn’t an android. She’s a vessel.”

“A vessel for what?”

“Haven’t you been listening? A soul. She is a machine capable of storing and harnessing the power of a soul.”

“Doesn’t that mean?” Ren couldn’t voice the thought. Up to this point Pyrrha had been talking nonsense, but this actually made sense. It was actually consistent with some of the thoughts he’d had before.

“Yes, Penny, or at least her soul, used to reside in a human body. She was Joseph’s daughter once upon a time.”

“Joseph, the same one you were talking about earlier?”

“Yes,” Pyrrha snapped, not appreciating the interruption. “His daughter had a terminal illness that even the owner of the world’s largest pharmaceutical company in the world wasn’t able to cure. So he made the move into synthetic life, and transferred her soul from her dying body, to her new one. It was a success. She kept most of her memories, and still thinks she’s his daughter. Only now she doesn’t age.”

“What’s wrong with that? Saving her life?” Ren had been through the agony of losing someone. They all had. If there was a way to stop it, no matter how drastic, he couldn’t see how it would be a bad thing.

“Because he wasn’t content with saving her life. He turned her into a weapon. One that was responsible for the fall of an entire city. And she wasn’t the culmination of a huge research project. She was a prototype.”

_A prototype?_ That meant…

“Yes. Enerdyne are creating dozens of them. Even after what happened in Vale. They’re creating a force that nothing will be able to resist. Unless I stop them. That’s why this is so important. No one else is willing to. Enerdyne controls everyone of importance. No one else is going to stand up to them.”

At this moment in time, though the things she was saying were outlandish in the extreme, she sounded sane. As if her psyche had concentrated itself around her mission. If there really were dozens of creations as strong as, or even stronger than Penny, he didn’t know what would be able to stop them.

In the tournament she’d destroyed every one of her opponents in a matter of heartbeats. Some of those who were meant to be the brightest prospects of the future reduced to nothing more than mild inconveniences.

His mind went back to a place he didn’t like it to tread. To the square where they'd found Pyrrha. It still made him gag when he remembered the stench of bodies and blood. The scores of them that Penny had slaughtered. Grimm, Knights, White Fang, Paladins, hunters, it hadn’t mattered. Pyrrha was a prodigy of combat. She’d gone up against her, and even she’d lost.

If Pyrrha was telling the truth, the most powerful military force in the world was now in the control of a lone individual. An individual that Pyrrha believed to be plotting against society as a whole.

“How do you know all this?” Nora asked.

“What do you think I’ve been doing? I’ve been finding all this out, and I haven’t even told you the worst part yet. Do you know how they actual make the transfer from human to machine.” They obviously didn’t. “The soul has to want it. Want to leave the body it was born in. You think I’m insane. I can see that. Well watch this.” Pyrrha went to a cupboard, tore up the false floor and pulled a laptop out. It had Enedyne’s logo on the back of it. After a few moments she selected a video and held it up to them.

The whiteness of the laboratory on the screen was bright in the relative darkness of the apartment. It was an overhead shot. There was a teenage boy, about their age maybe a little younger, strapped to a padded table, medical restraints on every joint. On the other side of the room there was another sleeping boy with numerous wires attached to them. It looked like a boy, but if Ren guessed correctly that was another android. Entirely indistinguishable from a human.

A cool and professional voice gave the date. “Audio log for Project Persephone, Phase gamma. Preparing for transfer five. We believe we have isolated the unique circumstances that were responsible for four’s failure. The subject had a rare and previously undiagnosed neurological condition, which cause a resonance and the subsequent breakdown of the Collodi Interface with… unfortunate consequences.

“To avoid a repeat scenario we have added the criteria of additional neurological screening to the selection process. Subject five has passed those tests and the previously established ones. With that in mind I have approved the transfer protocol. Prepare the subject.”

Half a dozen nurses and doctors came into shot. The boy was obviously scared, thrashing against his restraints, but they held him firm. The gag in his mouth stopping him from communicating or moving his head. The medical professions, the scientists, began swabbing his skin with wipes and gel. They attached wires to his forehead, his chest, his thighs, mirroring the wires that were already in place on the other body. They all fed into a large machine between the two beds.

That wasn’t all though. After they were finished with those wires, they attached more, thinner ones with wider pads that came in pairs. They all came from a different box to the one in the middle. Once they were done the medical professionals left the boy panicking and trying to escape his predicament.

“The room is being sealed,” the same voice as before stated as they heard sounds of locks shutting. “Beginning the preparatory phase. Powering up the Collodi Interface.” Lights buzzed into life on the machine between the beds. “Running diagnostics.” There was silence for a time apart from typing and the muted sounds of the boy. “The Interface is ready. Begin the transfer.”

A few seconds after those words were said the boy began to scream, even his gag unable to muffle him. They were piercing and agony laden. He thrashed uncontrollably as the muscles all over his body spasmed from the electricity that was pouring into him.

It went on, and on, and on. Every time Ren thought it was over, it was only because the boy had screamed himself hoarse and needed time to recuperate. But he always started again. Ren didn’t know how long he watched them torture someone. Actually torture. All with the same neutral voice stating updates.

Eventually after what seemed an age Pyrrha closed the screen. Her voice was soft after the screams.  “Now try telling me they aren’t evil.”

Ren couldn’t. Not after what he’d just witnessed. Nora’s face was entirely drained of blood next to him. Both of them had just seen something truly horrible that they never wanted to see again.

“That’s how they make the soul want to leave. They torture it out. They make its original body so excruciating it has no choice but to escape. At least that one was successful. You don’t want to see what happens when it’s not. There’s almost a dozen similar videos. A dozen similar people put through that. For what?”

She let that question hang in the air. What Pyrrha had said earlier might have been unfounded, but what she’d just showed them wasn’t. It was backed by hard proof that he’d never be able to forget. It was an atrocity.

“Why haven’t you told anyone? Gone to the media?”

“You haven’t been listening. He controls the media. The videos would just be deleted and they’d try to kill me again. The same as the police. They have no power over someone like this. Only I can stop them.”

“I’ll help,” Nora was resolute.

“I don’t want your help. I don’t want you near this.”

“Well you shouldn’t have showed me that video then. I’m stopping that. It’s what hunters are meant to do.”

“No! You’re not cut out for this. It’s too dangerous.”

“Too dangerous for us, but you want us to let you face it alone?”

“Yes. I’ve managed so far. These people aren’t using training rounds. They’re not messing around. If you go I won’t be able to keep you safe.”

That statement pissed Nora off. “You’re not our babysitter! The Knights weren’t using training rounds either. You don’t get to decide what we can or can’t do. I am not losing you again. Do you understand that? I’m going with you.”

“Really? And how do expect to follow me?” Pyrrha’s expression darkened. They all knew what she was implying. _How do you expect to follow me if I don’t let you?_

“Because we’re a _team_ ,” Nora stressed the word, “And teams stick together. What do you think Jaune would have wanted us to do?”

“Don’t mention his name!” Pyrrha had flinched at it.

“Why not? He was my friend too. He wouldn’t have wanted you to do all this alone. He would have told us to stick together if he could. He would have wanted us to support each other. Are you going to deny him that?”

It was a low blow. Perhaps the lowest blow that Nora could think of. But it was also the one which would hit home the hardest.

“Yes, I mean, no.” With the increasing mental stress she began to talk to herself again. This time it did appear she was having an argument with some other facet of herself. Perhaps the part which desired teammates, desired friends.

“We’re coming Pyrrha. Whether you like it or not. You’re going to have to break our legs to stop us.” Nora even presented her leg.

“You can’t. You’ll get hurt. I don’t want to lose anyone else.” Pyrrha turned away from them. Ren saw just how much weight was resting on her shoulders. It was a wonder she could stand.

“And we’re not going to lose you. Jaune wouldn’t have left you alone, and we’re not going to either.”

The final mention of Pyrrha’s love seemed to sap the last of the strength from her. “Fine. But you do what I say. Even if it’s to stay out of a fight. This is mine to finish.”

“Absolutely,” Nora said in the way that Ren knew meant she was lying.

“Ok we’re leaving now. They’ll be here any minute. I’ve taken too long.” Pyrrha picked up the laptop and her scroll, walked into another room and returned with a single bag. That was it. What she’d condensed her life down to.

“Let’s go.” Pyrrha led them out into the hall and shut the door on her _borrowed_ apartment. As they left the building Ren didn’t quite know what Nora had signed him up for, but, as he always did, he had her back.

No matter what.

 


	28. Chapter 28

The situation in Vale had deteriorated. Or at least that was what Yang would have liked to say. In reality it had completely gone to shit.

It had already been hard enough knowing that her dad and uncle were in the hands of the White Fang. To free them they would have to locate where they were being held, fight their way through who knew how many guards, and then get everyone out.

It would push them to the absolute limit. So much so that Yang felt guilty even asking her friends to take the colossal risks; they all knew how unlikely it was for them all to escape unharmed. Yet they'd all agreed, and without reservation.

They'd started formulating a strategy, and had even begun to feel confident. That was until the point Torchwick had dropped a bombshell which threw all their meticulous plans awry. The invasion of Vale had begun.

An expeditionary force had landed near the coast and was establishing a foothold for the majority of the Atlesian forces to land. The promise of the retaliation from the most powerful country on the planet, a threat that had hung heavy over the city for so long was now becoming a reality.

Yang had heard two very different stories about what was happening out there. The first, the one presented by the White Fang, told of heroic victories; stories of brave Faunus troops standing up and defeating their oppressors, before tactically pulling back to more strategic ground.

Torchwick's reports had been different. The White Fang was fighting a desperate withdrawal action, abandoning the territory they'd captured including the mines that were only just becoming operational. On the ground, despite their number, they were being overwhelmed by the professional soldiers with better fire support.

One version was much more believable, though ultimately it didn't matter. All that mattered was that the city of Vale was on a war footing. The White Fang had retreated from the far-flung regions and were concentrating their forces in the city that had been so hard-won.

Vale was full to bursting with their soldiers and that wasn't the worst part. The White Fang had also mobilised their Knights. Thousands and thousands of them, far more than they'd originally captured from Atlas.

While the Resistance's actions had resulted in much of the city being shut down with the infrastructure in ruins, the White Fang were still keeping some factories outside of Vale running no matter the cost; they were pumping out scores of Knights an hour. How they'd managed to get the plans Yang didn't know, but then she didn't know how they'd managed to hack the Knights in the first place.

All this meant that there were thousands of Knights on the streets. Up to this point the White Fang had been hesitant to deploy them in the city. To too many the horror of the day in which the city had been  _liberated_  still burned. The Knights were the main cause of that. To disassociate themselves from them had been the intelligent thing to do. It didn't matter now though, and the leadership knew it.

For all intents and purposes the city was under martial law. No one went out, not unless they had to, not when at any moment bombs could fall from the sky. They huddled in their houses, in their basements converted to shelters, praying that it would just be over, one way or another.

If only Yang's life was so easy. Even without her personal situation, the Resistance hadn't yet achieved its purpose. Until the flag of the White Fang had been torn down from the roof of the Eburnean House they still had work to do.

They'd moved from civilian to military targets, ammo dumps, AA systems, and more. There were so many explosions on the streets now people would be forgiven for believing that the war had come early to the city. When he walked in on a planning session, Torchwick hadn't even immediately shot down their plan to free her dad and uncle.

Anything that would destabilise the White Fang was a good move in his book, and losing two much lauded prisoners would certainly do that. Only he wanted to expand it from a simple rescue mission to something more. He hadn't said what, and Yang wasn't sure if she really wanted to know.

He'd let them get on with their end while he orchestrated his. The plan they'd come up with was almost workable. Well, at least it had been up until they'd received news of Atlas' invasion. Now they didn't know if it was tenable.

"Look, I just can't see how we can do it when that sector is now crawling with troops. They'll be up our asses in seconds." As usual Coco was certainly expressive in getting her point across.

"We can still come up with something," Neptune said from across the table. "It's going to be harder, but we just can't leave them."

"Of course, I'm not saying that," Coco snapped back. They all knew what the end result of that course of action would be. "I'm just saying we're going to have to throw everything we've come up with out the window and we're running out of time. The trial was meant to be in two days. With all the stuff happening now who knows if they're even going to bother with one anymore. We need ideas, and fast. Anybody?"

Everyone sat in the designated planning room of Torchwick's warehouse exchanging glances. All hoping that the others' brains was more active than theirs.

After a minute of awkward silence Coco spoke again. "Ok, let's try breaking this down. What's our goal?"

"To free Yang's dad and uncle," Sun said.

"Right. What problems do we have?"

"They're under guard. And there are a lot more defences and troops around the area than there were before. It will be close to impossible to sneak in anymore," Neptune added.

"So if there are too many guards in the area what do we need to do?"

"Draw them away?" Sage added.

"Yes. We've got to try and get enough out of the area so we won't be walking into a death trap. How? How can we make them pull out? How can we distract them?" Coco tapped her fingernails on the table. A steady rhythm as they all waited for a flash of inspiration.

It came from Blake. "There's a barracks not too far from there. If it came under a heavy assault, they would need reinforcements."

Yang saw the brief heated look that Coco sent Blake's way. Though so far she'd managed to swallow her tongue, it was clear in the way she treated Blake that she hadn't forgiven her for lying to them for all those months. Blake believed she deserved the cold shoulder as well.

It was telling Coco didn't compliment Blake. "Can we work on that? How many are stationed there?"

Blake shrugged. "Eighty or so. Though they are storing Knights there. Maybe a few hundred. They're probably planning to use them to defend the centre of the city."

It was clear what Coco was thinking. Though in reality she likely didn't doubt Blake's loyalty to her friends, a small part of her would always consider just how Blake knew what they were planning? Once a given trust has been broken, it is extremely hard to repair.

"Velves, what do you think? That many is a lot; even for you." None of them would dream of turning Velvet's skills against the White Fang regulars, not with what it would do to her psyche. Knights though, they were ok.

Velvet shrank away from the collective attention. As always she'd done her best to make herself small and unnoticeable even when they were all sitting around the same table. "Umm… maybe. We don't have a lot of Dust left though, and I'd have to see what it's like, but how long do I have?"

Coco shrugged. "A day, maybe two. We can't afford to wait any longer."

"I don't know then. Knights are resistant to most elemental attacks. I'd have to try and figure out a way to neutralise that many, and that's only if I can get a lot more Dust."

"You can do it," Coco said encouragingly. "I'm sure Torchwick will be able to find some. Let's proceed on the basis that he can and you work out a way. Where does that leave the rest of us?"

"With the seven of us against about eighty or more White Fang." When Sun said it like that the task seemed colossal.

"We don't actually have to fight them though, we just have to pin them down long enough that they call for reinforcements," Coco corrected him.

"There won't be seven of us though," Blake spoke up and everyone turned to her. "This is just a distraction. We still have to free Taiyang and Qrow. Someone will have to do that."

"And I suppose that someone means you," Coco stared her down.

"Unless you have a better candidate," Blake snapped back.

"Well you're not going alone." Those who weren't clued in to the reason behind Coco's sudden hostility shared confused looks.

"Course she's not," Yang spoke up. "I'm going too." She cut off whatever Blake was going to say. "They're my family. I'm going."

"Me too," Sun declared. "You're going to need all the help you can get."

A spike of jealousy surged into Yang's blood. It was clear to her that he'd only put his name forward because he wanted to protect Blake. They might not have had much time for romantic machinations in the middle of the city, but they had spent time together and perhaps he thought their old romance had been rekindled.

It shouldn't have made her jealous. She had no claims on Blake. She wasn't even sure just how she felt about her anymore. It would take her a lot longer than she had to catalogue and analyse the numerous things she'd discovered on this mission. They'd got back to the point where they were friends, at least on the surface, Yang was even coming to enjoy Blake's company once more, but they weren't back to that magical place they had been when she'd first developed feeling for her partner. Sun's declaration shouldn't have made her angry. It still did though.

"We can't have everyone going," Coco said.

"No but three's a good number. Don't you think Blake?" Sun said.

If Yang knew her at all, Blake's ideal number for an operation like this was precisely one. That wouldn't fly on this mission though, Yang wouldn't take no for an answer, and Blake obviously noticed. "Two… maybe three."

"There it is then." Sun jumped on her words. "We'll go in. Free Taiyang and Qrow, while the rest of you draw most of the guards off."

Coco wasn't all that happy with the plan. "If we assume that Velvet's going to have her hands full, with you three going off, that leaves four of us to pin down eighty. That's sort of asking a lot."

"What about Torchwick?" Neptune said. "He wanted something big. What could be bigger than striking the White Fang in the heart of Vale? I'm sure when he learns what we're planning he'll be willing to push some extra resources our way. It would only take another dozen people with guns to make them think they were under attack by a much larger force."

"That… that could work," Coco said grudgingly before the idea gained traction in her head. "Actually… maybe Neo could help us here. If we're planning on tricking the White Fang she could be very useful."

A series of nervous looks were passed between them. Despite spending more time in her company none of them found it comfortable. Especially when they'd been given a very visual demonstration of what she found  _fun_. Neo was all kinds of damaged.

"Ok." Coco started summing up. "Perhaps we're not completely boned. I'll have to speak with Torchwick but, assuming he agrees, this might just be workable. It most certainly won't be easy, but unless anyone else has any other ideas?" She paused for a moment. "Then this is our best one. Though, knowing our luck, it's going to turn into a shit storm."

* * *

 

Yang fidgeted with Ember Celica for the hundredth time in the past hour. With practiced motions she flicked it between its deployed and non-deployed states, checking the chamber was clear, and the safeties.

They were practiced motions but they weren't performed flawlessly. Her hands were shaking too much. Normally she would have punched anyone who said she was scared. She was too strong to be scared. Or at least that was what she tried to present to the world.

In reality there were many things that strength simply wasn't able to stop. It didn't matter if someone was a clerk or the most powerful hunter in the world, they would still experience the same heart-wrenching and all-encompassing terror when they saw a loved one collapse.

Yang wasn't scared for herself. She'd long come to terms with what might happen to her on a hunt or mission. Instead she was scared for her dad, for her uncle, for her friends and what they were preparing to do on her behalf, and for Ruby and how she would cope if the worst happened here.

Fear might have existed on a plane that had been long since transcended by Yang the hunter, but it existed all around Yang the sister, the daughter, the friend. It was that fear that caused her hands to shake. She pressed them into tight fists, her nails biting into her skin, trying to hide the trembling.

She didn't succeed. A soft hand wrapped around her own closed one, forcing her fingers apart until they were entwined with the newcomer's.

"It's all going to be ok Yang." As usual Blake had snuck up on her in complete silence.

Tellingly the nerves were completely lacking from her frame. Yang didn't answer immediately. Neither of them were stupid. They knew that the words were hollow. Short of a divine entity no one could promise such a thing. The sentiment behind the words was very real though. Blake had noticed her discomfort and sought to relieve it.

"Thanks," Yang gave her a shaky smile which Blake returned. At times like this Yang missed the moments they'd once shared so badly it hurt.

"No worries," Blake returned the smile, her amber eyes alight. They stayed that way for a few minutes. Just sharing the warmth from their bodies and breathing in each other's scent. It was comforting. They could have been back at Beacon. A time when both their lives had been so much simpler.

They weren't back at Beacon though. "We should get…" Sun trailed off as their intimate position became visible to him. For a fraction of a heartbeat Yang felt the heat of his gaze. He wasn't stupid either. There was no way he would have missed all the drama between her and Blake, or failed to deduce what it could mean.

He coughed. "We should get ready. We've got about ten minutes if everything goes to schedule."

"Sure," Blake pulled away from Yang. "Right both of you, I know I've said this before, but follow my lead. No matter what." She rose gracefully and then helped Yang up. "Let's not forget the objective here. We go in, we find Taiyang and Qrow, then we get out as quickly as possible. We need to make the best use of the time the others are buying for us."

Yang nodded, even if she didn't like  _'No matter what,'_ she was well aware of what they might have to do before the night was over. She'd already had to strain her moral boundaries. With as large a conflict as the diversion was planned to be, the probability of no one getting killed was close to negligible. All this was happening for her. Those deaths would fall at her feet. At this moment, as callous as it was, she just hoped it wasn't her friends.

They had to wait about twice what Sun had said. The predetermined hour came and went. They were left biding their time in their position overlooking Vale's main courthouse. The White Fang had planned all the bells and whistles for what would have been a kangaroo court.

It was heavily guarded, but that was to be expected for a government building. Out the front there were checkpoints, even barricades to try and prevent bombings, and dozens of guards. It would have been too hard of a nut to crack even if most of the guards were drawn away.

The side entrance was less of one. Ironically, it was meant for the arrival of prisoners, if they had their way today it would be used for the reverse. There were currently eight guards overlooking the gate. A lot but, for three hunters, it was manageable.

All three of them jumped when the sky exploded. They'd all heard the plan, but hearing was very different from witnessing. The low hanging clouds that had been building for the last few hours unleashed what had been gathering within.

Calling it a lightning storm didn't do it justice. Not in the slightest. There wasn't one strike and then a rumble of thunder. Instead, the single incandescent white line almost appeared continuous as it burnt itself onto their collective vision. A ripple of sonic shockwaves erupted from the air it passed through. The  _thunder_  was almost incessant and thumped into Yang's lungs.

The outpouring of electricity raked across the ground hidden from sight behind some buildings. The same ground where hundreds of Knights had been standing in orderly ranks. They were built to resist Dust weaponry, even targeted Dust attacks, but not that. Not the unleashing of one of nature's most violent phenomena. A phenomena which, with meticulous planning and careful manipulation of primal forces, Velvet had turned up to eleven. For about the thousandth time Yang was incredibly grateful she was on their side. It wouldn't have surprised her if the Knights were being vaporised the moment the white column touched them.

The gunfire and explosions were barely audible over the still continuing thunder. It highlighted that though society claimed to hold dominion over nature, in some ways they were so lacking. How could simple bullets compare to  _that_?

They couldn't, not really, but they tried. Coco's gun was far too distinct for its reports to be anything else. Reine de Beauté would be raking the building which the White Fang had selected for their barracks. It was perhaps someone with good humour who'd chosen the old Atlesian Embassy. With the other member of their team, some of the other cells, and whatever Neo could concoct, the idea was to make it seem like they were under attack from a far superior force.

And entranced by the lightning strike, they might well have been. Yang didn't want to think what would happen if Velvet turned that on the Embassy. It would likely have ripped through every floor in a heartbeat.

Blake clamped a hand over Yang's eyes. He night vision was entirely ruined. All she could see was a white blur. "Focus Yang," Blake had to raise her voice to be heard, her own eyes were closed to a squint.

Yang turned away and took over shielding her eyes. Her sight began to return. "Right."

"Let's give it a few minutes."

The guards outside the gate had been ripped from their boring duty and were staring towards the commotion just as enraptured as Yang had been. All apart from the sergeant who was barking into his radio, trying to find out what the hell was going on.

"Remember the plan. Fast, quick, and most importantly silent." Blake rose from her crouch.

Together they made their way to the wall next to the gate. Sun held out his hands to make a stirrup. The razor wire topped wall wasn't high enough that it was a major barrier to any of them. Though Yang would have had to fire Ember Celica to gain enough lift; they couldn't afford that.

Blake went first. Just a wraith in the darkness. Yang wasn't as graceful, but she landed inside the compound lightly, hidden from the guards by a van. Blake had vanished and Yang exchanged glances with Sun when he dropped down.

Blake reappeared a heartbeat later, dragging a struggling figure after her. A wire wrapped around his throat. Yang turned away. This was her mission. She'd known what she was asking. It didn't make it any easier to see her friend strangling someone to death though. Blake just made it seem like such a non-event. Safely hidden from view she'd flipped him onto his front and with a knee in his back pulled hard. He went still.

From her expression Blake didn't seem like she'd just killed a man. It was entirely neutral. She wasn't even out of breath. She made a few quick gestures. " _Seven targets. Yang, nearest two. Sun, middle three. Me, furthest. In three, two, one…"_

They came round the side of the van at a sprint. The closest didn't know what had hit him. As Blake used her Semblance to leap forward and Sun sent his clones out, Yang struck him in the temple. There was absolutely zero finesse in her blow. It crashed against his Aura and as it struggled to recover her right fist caught the underside of his jaw. He dropped as if poleaxed.

She didn't let that small victory distract her. Her other target was just turning when Ember Celica's metal plate slammed into the bridge of his nose. It shattered. She drove a fist into stomach and, as bent forward with air erupting form his lungs, her fist slammed down on his neck.

With both her targets down Yang turned to see how she could help the others. She couldn't. They'd been just as efficient as her. Sun's were splayed about him, his staff on his shoulder. Blake was crouched over hers. The three of them had just managed to take down seven White Fang in a matter of seconds without anyone firing a shot. So far so good.

Blake threw her something and Yang caught it out of instinct. In her hands were a number of paired loops of hard plastic. "Do their hands and wrists. We want to come back through here." Yang realised what she was holding. They were plastic cuffs. She slipped them over the limbs of her two targets and pulled them tight, the ratchets clicking.

"Get the one behind the van as well," Blake instructed her.

 _What? He was…_  Yang checked him. The skin of his throat was marred by a wide bruise, but he was still breathing. Blake had stopped between the critical moment when he slipped out of consciousness and out of life.

The sudden realisation that one of the deaths that had fallen on her shoulders was in fact not one rocked her. She'd expected the worst of Blake; she'd thought she'd killed him. Just like she had before to who knew how many. They'd never specifically discussed what had come between the pair of them. In many ways they'd both known, and Blake was making an effort. She could have choked him to death; it certainly would have been safer. But she'd chosen not to. For her. To try and preserve their relationship. It gave Yang hope for the future.

After dragging the rest of the unconscious bodies into the corners of the small courtyard, Yang realised the cacophony of thunder had stopped. The sky that had been its source was still glowing, the clouds roiling, and smoke rose into the air from below it, but Velvet's attack had ceased.

In its absence the gunfire and explosions were even more pronounced. Dozens of them a second. The pip of small arms fire, the crack of higher calibre weapons, and the rumble of Coco's. There were too many for it to be one-sided though. They were doing that for her. She needed to make it count.

"Let's get going." She gestured Blake to lead the way. None of them had been inside before, but Blake's enhanced senses would serve them better.

Through the doors there was a small reception where the transferred prisoners could be checked in and examined before their trial, and a number of temporary holding cells. Fortune would have been favouring them indeed if her dad and Qrow had been in those; instead they were likely to be in the more secure cells deeper into the building.

Blake led them forward at a trot, occasionally motioning them to pause before carrying on. With two Faunus by her side Yang felt like a liability. To her senses the corridor was dark, her surroundings silent. She couldn't pick up any of the reasons why Blake stopped every so often.

They ran into two more groups on their way. The first Yang held no regrets over. The two White Fang members had been dispatched easily and without trouble. The second less so. On one of the many pauses a door right next to Yang had opened and figure appeared in it.

Yang had only just managed to pull her punch. It hadn't been someone in a White Fang uniform, rather a middle-aged woman in a smart shirt carrying a coffee. She hadn't had an activated Aura. A punch from a hunter might very well have killed her. As it was even the reduced force of the blow had sent her cartwheeling backwards.

The horror of what she'd done had caused her heart to seize up. A feeling only alleviated when Blake started to move her into the recovery position. Yang hadn't killed her, but she never should have struck like that in the first place. Any one of her teacher's would have been disgusted by her. Attacking without fully analysing the situation was one of the first things that was drilled out of potential hunters at combat schools. She knew better, but the tension and the skulking just had her so on edge.

Blake had cuffed the woman to the table, turned out the lights, and shut the door. As much as Yang would have liked to, they didn't have the time to hang around. Blake could do that. She could compartmentalise herself. Push her emotions one way and logic the other. They'd done all this for a reason and tending a wounded civilian would jeopardise that. It was what made Blake so suited to this world, and Yang not so. She was her emotions. Her anger, her regret, her love. She couldn't any more separate herself from them than she could her Aura. It was a strength and it was a weakness.

They made it into the underbelly of the courthouse without further incident. This was a place that few would ever see. It didn't have the ostentatious grandiosity of the area above where the judges and lawyers would walk, instead it would only ever have been seen by the prisoners and their jailors.

Consequently, security was much tighter. The only entry to the cell complex was through a heavy remote controlled gate. It was designed so a prisoner wouldn't be able to run, but it hindered them equally as much.

Though, as usual, Blake had foreseen this particular scenario and came prepared. She wrapped a White Fang armband around her bicep and passed another to Sun. She then turned to Yang with a mischievous grin. "How do you fancy playing our prisoner?"

"Umm…" she wished they'd discussed this previously.

Blake leaned in, dangling a pair of plastic cuffs on her finger, and whispered seductively. "I'll get to tie you up."

Yang spluttered. It wasn't often that Blake was able to exceed her in terms of lewdness, but she'd just managed it. Her whisper had been accompanied by dark promise. Blake knew exactly what she was implying.

Yang could feel the heat rushing to her face. They might have had their problems, but on a physical level she still found Blake incredibly attractive. To hear her whisper like that caused Yang's insides to squirm. In her exploratory phase she'd dabbled with both sides of some light bondage, but it had never really captured her imagination. However, in the future ̶ ̶ after they'd decided if they were going to try again ̶ ̶ if Blake wanted to try some heavier stuff… Well Yang was willing to try anything once.

"Sure," Yang said hoarsely. She missed the look Sun had sent her way. In his mind at least, Yang was a direct rival for Blake's affections.

"Good. Do you mind?" She tapped the still deployed Ember Celica.

"Oh right." Yang hit a pair of buttons and shook her arms. Her weapons retracted to their usual form.

"Thanks," Blake smiled sweetly as she pulled Yang's arms behind her. Yang wasn't sure if it was her imagination that Blake's touch seemed to be slightly rougher than usual. Thick plastic bands enclosed her wrists.

Yang tested her bonds. Her wrists were separated by just a few millimetres and as such the movement of her arms was severely restricted. The cuffs were strong enough that she likely wouldn't have been able to break them through pure strength, but Blake hadn't ratcheted them all the way closed. Though they would pass a casual inspection there was just enough space to slip her hands out.

Blake checked her handiwork, grasping Yang's wrists and moving her arms around. "They're not too tight are they?" Yang shook her head. "Good. Keep pressure on them so they don't slip down, and don't say anything. Let us do the talking. Ok?"

"Fine."

"Just look surly. You're good at that." That earned Blake a scowl. "See?"

"You know what to do?" she asked Sun.

"Yeah, shouldn't be too difficult." If he was jealous of what he'd just witnessed he managed to keep it out of his voice.

"Right, and remember Yang you're a prisoner." To reinforce the words she grasped Yang's shoulder and pushed her forward suddenly, throwing her off balance. With her arms pinned she would have fallen if not for Blake's grip.

"Thanks," Yang growled through gritted teeth as her stumble took her into the main corridor where she was likely under surveillance.

Sun took a position on her other side and all three of them marched towards the metal bars of the jail door. A bored guard looked up when Blake rapped her knuckles on them. His face filled with puzzlement.

"What are you doing here?"

"Prisoner transfer," Blake nudged Yang a little bit closer.

"What? Everyone has been moved from here."

That was news to them. Blake rode with it though. "Great. We spend all day bringing her in and someone hasn't told us our orders have changed. That's just typical," Blake spat. "Look can we just get her in a cell, so we can try and work out what the hell is going on?"

"Umm… I'm not meant to let anyone in."

"It would only be for a few minutes while we get in contact with our superiors," Sun spoke up. "We normally wouldn't bother, but she's proven a handful." Yang took that as her cue and jostled her captors. Sun punched her in the kidneys. It hadn't been a hard blow, not really. She hadn't been expecting it though and she had to bend over gasping. "See? She's been a pain in the ass."

"Yeah, umm... who did you say you were again?" The guard still wasn't sure.

"Look buddy, we didn't. Guess why? I take it you've only just signed up." The guard nodded, "Then you're probably smart enough not to ask questions when you shouldn't. There's a reason we're not in a full uniform. Understand?"

"Yes… sir," The guard added as he thumbed the button to unlock the door. Blake pushed the gate open and prodded Yang until she was standing before the counter.

"Thanks," she said. "Are any of the cells being used?"

"No they're all free. I'm stuck here alone guarding absolutely nothing."

 _What?_   _Where the hell were her dad and uncle? They were meant to be here._  The guard had said everyone earlier, but Yang had thought he'd been exaggerating. She fought down an expletive.

"All of them? Where are all the prisoners?" Blake asked.

"They've been moved to the front. It should give the Atlesians something else to think about." Yang resisted grimacing. The White Fang had decided to make use of human shields. Just when she'd thought they couldn't get any worse.

"Surely not all of them. What about those two big shots that were meant to be having a trial?"

"No not th… Wait who did you say she was again?"

"They didn't," Yang growled. The hard plastic of the cuff scraped her skin as she pulled a hand free and she grabbed the front of his uniform. Pulling him over the counter she slammed him into the floor. "Where are they?"

Her assault had left him winded and only coughs answered her.

"Sun go check if there's anyone else around." Yang turned her attention back to the guard, slapping him to get his attention. "Where are the two leaders of the Resistance?"

"I… I…"

"Think very, very carefully before saying you don't know. You might make me lose my temper." He was entirely in her power. He barely had an Aura to speak of. They'd got lucky that he wasn't one of the stronger White Fang members, but at the same time one of the core was unlikely to be stuck sitting behind a desk when there was so much else to do.

"I don ̶ ̶ "

Yang lifted him about a foot from the floor and threw him back down. His head bounced from the tiles. "You admitted you did. Where is my dad!" she shouted in his face, flames dripping from her hair.

That was what really caught his attention. He suddenly knew just how outclassed he was. His eyes went wide with sheer terror. Yang punched him. With him on the floor below her it wasn't a particularly powerful strike, but a rib still snapped beneath her knuckles. "Where are they!"

"Shit…" his hands went to protect his chest. "Shit that hurts." Yang raised her fist again. "No!" She halted.

"Where are they?" Yang repeated. In her anger, and fear getting the answer was all that mattered.

"They took them upstairs. About an hour ago…" He stopped to pull in haggard breaths. "After they'd cleared out all the other prisoners. I think they were taking them to the main courtroom. That's all I know. I promise."

Just when Yang was considering making sure, Blake pushed her way between them. She crouched over the guard and pressed her thumb to his neck. After a few moments he went limp. Blake rose with no expression on her face.

It was only then that Yang realised what she'd done. What she'd been prepared to do. Even in unconsciousness, the guard's chest rose and fell unevenly. Her throat filled with bile.

She was a hypocrite.

The worst one imaginable. Torture was easy for her to abhor, as long as it wasn't her who needed the information. With her dad and uncle in danger, everything she'd believed she was had just been forgotten. Her morals turned off as if they were connected to a switch.

In the end it had been Blake who had given him mercy. Not her. She couldn't take the high ground any longer. She wasn't allowed to.

Sun was back, standing slightly to the side and not entirely sure as to what he'd just missed. Blake looked at him as she was restraining the guard. "They're all empty. He was telling the truth."

"Yeah we found out as much. Taiyang and Qrow are apparently upstairs, which means we're probably going to have to go in hard. We won't get another chance. We can only hope the diversion actually worked." Blake gave a brief and dirty summation of their new plan.

It wasn't much of one. Then again the only other option would have been to leave and try again another time. After getting this close, it wasn't an option.

"I'm game," Sun said. "We better get moving though. We've burned enough time as it is."

"Yeah," Blake pressed the button to unlock the door. "You good Yang?"

She wasn't, she loathed herself, but now was not the time for self-depreciation. She nodded.

They headed off at a run. Sun had been right. This was meant to be a snatch and grab raid. The distraction team were never meant to hold off the forces that would be converging on them. They were just meant to make a lot of noise and then fade away.

With the knowledge of just where the majority of prisoners were the lack of people they'd run into made a lot more sense. It was both lucky and unlucky. They were less likely to be questioned, but they also couldn't blend into the crowd.

Their silent rush up the flights of stairs was halted when the walls suddenly shook. Even underground the roar of an explosion reached them.

"What the hell is going on up there?" Sun swore, obviously worried about his teammates who were in the thick of it.

It was a rhetorical question. None of them knew. All they knew was an explosion of that size had not been in the plan.

They started up again. Reaching the ground floor, their boots transitioned from practical tiles to polished hardwood planks. It was much easier to run outside of the narrow corridors and the offices to either side were a blur.

In the antechamber of the courthouse they ran into the first real opposition. Blake threw open the double doors and a squad of White Fang were waiting. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. To Yang's eyes it seemed as they'd been playing poker.

The three of them didn't need to communicate. They went in and they went in hard. Blake arrived at their table first, whipping Gambol Shroud's sheath off her back she didn't try for finesse. Her two handed strike hit the nearest on the back of the head.

She'd either judged the strength of his Aura well, or she just didn't care as he was catapulted from his chair with his skull intact. Immediately Blake spun to the side, chopping at an arm that was just going for its weapon. The bone snapped and the owner's scream was curtailed by a strike to his throat.

Sun arrived moments after. He leapt onto the table and slammed his staff down. The ornate wood cracked in two. The cards and chips were scattered into the air on an invisible wave of energy. Its effects on the participants of the game were less profound, but those who were still sitting were knocked back over their chairs.

Sun flipped out of the wreckage of the table, switched his staff into its nunchaku form, and became a maelstrom of the swinging wood and chains. His weapons lashed out at wherever he could reach. Skulls, forearms, knees, they were all equal value targets.

Compared to her teammates' arrivals Yang's was late. It wasn't any less effective though. As those who'd been displaced by the surprise of Sun and Blake's attacks were only just beginning to react to them, Yang hit them from behind.

With Ember Celica shielding her hands and concentrating the force of her knuckles all the but the strongest of Aura's were scant protection from her rage-fuelled strikes. They hammered home. Yang waded in, her arms blurring, catching whatever attacks were sent her way and returning them with interest. The White Fang soldiers fell around her like wheat before a scythe.

They might have been outnumbered five to one, but they were hunters and coupled with the initiative their opponents barely stood a chance. Yang had downed four of hers when a gun went off. More soldiers poured into the room.

All three of them reacted to the gunshot in the same way. Blake emptied her magazine, Sun cycled Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang rapidly, and Yang raised both of the muzzles of her weapon to her opponent's chest. Ember Celica bucked and he was thrown across the room.

The new soldiers were tougher, they hadn't been taken by surprise, and their Aura's didn't crumble within a few blows. They weren't civilians who had just signed up and been given a gun, they had likely been fighting for years.

For the first time since entering the room, hard-hitting blows began to come Yang's way. In the haze of flailing figures she lost track of where Blake and Sun were. She caught a blade on Ember Celica, flung it to the side, and threw a straight jab along the path it had come from. It struck home with a reassuring thud, but she'd paid for her lack of awareness when something else slammed into her side.

Yang growled rounding on the latest threat. The only good side of getting hit was she could feel her Semblance building. It was a pressure behind her eyes, in her veins. It would keep building until it was physically painful and she could release it in a single burst. It wasn't entirely useless up to that point though, some still leaked out. Her strikes became faster, stronger, her Aura sounder, and fire glowed in her wake.

Yang ducked under a swing, hammered a blow home to the Faunus' stomach, before bringing her knee up to meet his descending face. His head snapped back against his neck gratifyingly. Yang was taking a heavy toll on her enemies, a brawl in an enclosed room was where she excelled, but whenever she dropped one opponent there was always another just waiting to step into the hole.

She risked a glance to locate her teammates. Sun was giving as good as he was getting, three clones evening the numbers, but Blake was struggling. She excelled at hit and run tactics, confusion and misdirection being her main allies. There was little scope for that here. Blake had backed into a corner and was defending herself desperately with both Gambol Shroud and its sheath.

Redoubling the ferocity of her attacks Yang began to wade her way over to her partner. It was wading. Every single step closer was a victory. It seemed that Sun had come to the same conclusion. He and his clones were fighting their way towards Blake and Yang linked with him.

It was then that she slipped. Her boot had sought to gain purchase on a poker chip and it had slid away from her. Normally she would have been able to recover. It would only have taken a quick step to her side, but she was in the midst of a brutal melee and a hammer blow to her back hastened her trip to the floor.

Gasping, amidst the sea of shuffling legs, Yang saw her attacker, she saw him raise his blade high, and she saw Sun glance her way. For a long, long, instant they locked eyes. Yang saw how he noticed her predicament, her attacker standing over her, saw him calculate just what could happen, and in that moment he turned away, closing his eyes.

She understood that as well. He'd held his tongue every time he'd seen her and Blake together, but it was obvious what was behind some of their interactions. Deep-seated feeling, whether affection or apathy, they were there. He saw her as his direct and only rival to Blake's affections. If something were to happen to her, something unavoidable, there wasn't any blame to be levied about, and they would all need shoulders to cry on, Blake especially. And maybe, after she'd recovered from her grief, she'd remember who had been there for her.

Yang could understand Sun's reasoning, but it was cold beyond belief. She'd never let someone die just because they were competition. Fury surged into her blood and she directed it all to her Aura to try and stop the blow.

It never landed. A ghostly staff intercepted the blade and a pair of legs straddled her, giving her opportunity to rise. Sun had turned away from her only to block an attack that was heading his way, and he'd sent what help he could.

If they weren't already red with exertion, her cheeks would have been scarlet with shame. It was unbelievable she'd thought that of him. They might not have always gotten along, but he'd never given any reason for her to believe he'd be a willing party to her death.

Yang sought to make it up to him. A cone of buckshot lifted some of the pressure from his flanks and together they made steady to Blake's side. Only for her to disappear in a flash of violet when they arrived. "Get to the main room!" Blake called to them, as she disappeared and reappeared half a dozen times in a few seconds. The violet mist, her Shadows left in their wake, began to spread out obscuring everything.

Yang made good use of it, trusting that Sun was on her heels, she ploughed her way through the inky darkness. If the brawl had been confusing before, it was even more so now. It was impossible for her to see past the end of her nose, but where the odds were in favour of the White Fang striking their comrades, she was free to hit out at anyone she encountered.

The three of them erupted from the darkness into the courtroom proper. Yang spotted her family immediately. They were wearing orange jumpsuits and chained kneeling in the middle of the room where the defendants were normally stood. Over them were members of the White Fang elite.

Her dad's face was bruised and Qrow's wasn't much better. At the reveal of how they'd been treated the fires of her rage became an inferno. The White Fang had done this to her family, her blood. It shouldn't have mattered more than everyone they'd caused to suffer before but it did.

Taiyang slumped when he saw who his rescuer was. "Yang!" he roared in a voice loud enough to shake the great window in the roof dozens of feet above. A rifle butt slammed into the base of his skull, but he fought through the pain. "Run! It's a trap!"

No sooner were the words free on the air than did more doors jump open. The steady, rhythmic footfalls heralded the arrival of what must have been over a hundred Knights, they in turn were accompanied by more of the White Fang core.

The three would be rescuers slid to a stop a score of feet away from the prisoners as they were all encircled by a force at least three deep. Weapons bristled from the ranks. They went back to back, but Yang knew it would be no use. They were good, very good. But no one was this good.

The relief and anger that had gushed up inside of her at the sight of her family faded. Blake had been right. Entirely right. She been stupid to think she knew better than Blake, and in her arrogance she'd led her friends to their deaths. There was no way out. No way to escape this many. They'd be able to take a good number with them, but in the end it wouldn't matter.

Her dad, someone who she loved and hated in equal measure, bucked against his restraints as he sought to come to his daughter's aid. Just like their situation, it was hopeless and he only received more blows for his trouble. But at least he was trying to resist. Qrow was just kneeling there, eyes closed, not doing anything. His will was already broken.

The warmth of her friends' shoulders against her own was comforting. She'd always wanted to die with her friends at her side, just not this soon.

"Do you think it's too late to join up?" Sun's question brought a smile to her lips.

"Probably," Yang replied looking at those around her. They didn't seem to be in a recruiting mood.

"Shame." Yang could picture his grin. "Well it's been real guys. Not how I pictured going out, but I wouldn't change anything." They'd all accepted their fate with good graces. In their career paths, they had to be ready for it.

"Me neither," Yang bumped his shoulder.

"Look," Blake spoke up, "They'll be coming after me. I can buy you guys some time. Just run and don't look back."

Blake was always so selfless, and sometimes unbelievably stupid. If not for the situation Yang would have hit her. "Not a fucking a chance." Her body wouldn't even have let her run from a friend in need. "We either all escape, or we all go down together."

"Damn straight," Sun confirmed.

"See? No more of this bullshit martyr nonsense." Yang raised her fists in front of her, and Sun readied his weapons too.

Blake sniffed, blinking rapidly. "You're the best friends anyone could ask for." Blake brought Gambol Shroud up. "Now let's make these fuckers pay." It was a sentiment they all whole-heartedly believed in. Despite how badly they outnumbered them as the White Fang took in the look on their faces, some of them appeared nervous.

The ranks around them split and a figure walked through it. It wasn't Adam, but Blake obviously recognised him and the reverse was true as well. "Blake."

"Mahog."

"Such a surprise to run into each other like this."

Blake didn't dignify him with an answer.

"Adam wants you." Again she remained silent. "Fine, you always did think you were better than the rest of us. Have it your way."

Yang sensed what was coming next. She sent her heart questing out into the world until she could almost believe it found Ruby's. "I'm sorry Rubes," she whispered. "Stick by Weiss, she loves you. I love you too. I always will. I'll be waiting for you." With that final epitaph Yang was ready.

The White Fang officer's next words fell like the headsman's axe. "Keep Blake alive, kill the ̶ ̶ "

A red and black portal ripped a hole in the air and a tall figure strode from it as if she intended to move the world.

The woman's appearance set all kinds of alarm bells ringing for Yang. She could swear she'd seen her before, but couldn't remember where. She should have been able to. The newcomer was certainly distinctive in her Grimm mask, and with the way she was gripping the hilt of her sword still in its scabbard. The sense of Déjà vu tugged at the back of her mind.

"You will not touch them!" the newcomer hissed in a sibilant voice that caused all of Yang's hairs to stand on end.

Taiyang's face turned as pale as a sheet. Qrow eyes flared open and he whispered disbelievingly.

"Raven…"

 


	29. Chapter 29

"Raven…" Qrow's whisper set lightning blazing in Yang's mind.

_Raven? Not… it couldn't be… he couldn't mean…_   _her mother._  The woman who she'd been searching for all these long years. The woman who'd been as elusive as ghost. The woman who'd given her up just after giving birth.

Yang hadn't wanted her mother's love all these long years. Summer had supplied more than enough of that. Instead, her search had been fuelled by her desire for answers. She wanted to know just why her own mother had abandoned her. Yang wanted to look into her eyes and hear her excuses.

And the woman in front of her ̶ ̶ the one who had literally just appeared out of empty air ̶ ̶ was the object of her obsession. The peace Yang thought she'd found with the world cracked.

"Raven, this does not concern you. It is an internal matter." Mahog told her flatly.

"You will not touch them," Raven repeated dangerously advancing on him. Every one of her words sent jolts through Yang's brain. That was her mother talking. Her mother.

"You don't have authority here. Where is your master anyway? Has she turned tail and fled?" Mahog squared up to Raven.

"You know not of what you speak." Raven was a head taller than him and bristled with anger. "And I do have authority here. Or have you forgotten that you all swore subservience." Raven hissed every word. Passing through the narrow gaps in her mask the sounds were stretched until they were utterly menacing.

"We are not servants," Mahog growled.

"No," Raven agreed, "You are slaves." She might have been outnumbered over a hundred to one, but there was no trace of fear in her body.

Mahog gritted his teeth. Most of the White Fang had been slaves in all but name at some point in their lives. "I'm no one's slave," he dropped his weapon.

"You are slaves who do even recognise the manifestation of your bondage. You have no idea of what drives the world. You are their puppets and have done only as they wish for so long. Regardless of your foolish self-belief, you swore to obey me."

"We had a mutual agreement with your master, not you. You do not give orders to me. Blake is a traitor. She is ours."

"I care not for her. But you shall not harm the humans." It was easy to imagine her eyes narrowing behind the mask.

"You don't seem to understand. You don't get to dictate anything."

"I am tiring of this exchange." Raven tightened her hand on the hilt by her side.

"I don't give a shit what you ̶ ̶ "

Raven's sword leapt from its scabbard. Its blood red blade lengthened in the air before slamming into Mahog's neck. Fire erupted from where its edge impacted. Mahog was slapped to the side as Raven reversed her swing to strike him a second time. The heavy blow catapulted him from his feet. When he came to his senses, it was to Raven standing over him with a heated blade searing the skin of his throat.

"Choose," she hissed.

For Yang the attack was shocking. It had happened so quickly and with no warning. Raven's attack had come from the scabbard and continued in a single motion. The blade had been a single blur punctuated by blossoming fire. If she'd ever doubted that Raven had gone to Beacon, there was the proof.

The attack on their leader had all the Faunus around them shuffling nervously ̶ ̶ the Knights hadn't reacted and wouldn't without orders. They could have attacked, but with their leader in such a precarious position they hesitated. The heavy, pregnant silence was broken by Qrow swearing.

"Damnit. What the hell is wrong with you people?" He looked between his would be rescuers as he rose. The situation had deteriorated so far from normalcy that his guard didn't immediately stop him. He walked forwards, his chains clinking. He approached his niece. "Yang I appreciate the intent, but we'll have to talk about the execution. It's pretty awful."

Despite herself Yang smiled, she couldn't really argue with that. Qrow had always been a joker when he was around.  _When he was around,_  there was the problem. At least her dad had been a drunk in their house; Qrow had always been a drunk elsewhere.

"And Raven," Qrow rounded on her, anger seething from every inch, "Where the fuck have you been these past eighteen years! And now you waltz in here like nothing has happened? You selfish bitch!" he spat at her, and for the first time Raven lost some of her composure. Something thumped against the great window overhead.

Qrow continued, ignoring the noise. "I have not been sober for an entire fucking month just for you two to screw this up now."

Yang didn't understand. A feeling that was shared by everyone around. Even the White Fang were exchanging looks. "But we're here to rescue you." There was another bang.

Qrow smiled at her. "As I said, I appreciate the attempt. But do you really think we'd be captured by this fucking rabble? I mean look at them. I would have failed most of them in the first year at Signal. They couldn't beat me even with my hands tied. Speaking of which." He jangled his chains. "I guess our plan's ruined. What do you say Tai, payback?"

"They threatened Yang," his words were so deep the ground almost shook.

"Thought so."

A rapid hammering came from above and Yang looked up. Birds, dozens of birds, were throwing themselves against the ornamental window, repeatedly. Not caring if they were injured. A spiderweb of cracks fanned out an instant before it shattered. Glass rained down and a murder of birds poured inside.

They weren't of one type. They ranged from the smallest robins, to crows and larger. The only thing they all had in common were the glowing red eyes. In a maelstrom of feathers and noise they descended on the White Fang. Claws and beaks attempting to gouge out vulnerable flesh.

Chaos erupted. Taiyang surged upwards with a roar throwing his jailors aside. Raven slashed her blade through Mahog's throat without further fanfare and leapt into a portal, reappearing moments later in the midst of another group of Faunus. The Knights all began firing at the birds, but even they couldn't track anything in the cloud of flashing colour.

Qrow just stood there staring upwards as birds still streamed in. No one was concentrating on anyone apart from themselves with fluttering shadows attempting to rip out their eyes. The reason he was waiting arrived moments later. A dozen laden swallows all gripping a line under their dorsal guiding feathers carried Qrow's weapon beneath them. They let the great sword fall and Qrow held out his wrists. The blade passed through his chains with barely any resistance before sinking several inches into the floor.

Qrow stretched his arms fully. The first time he'd been able to in a month. He clicked his shoulders and settled his hand around the hilt of his weapon. As he pried it from the floorboards a momentary smile lit up his face before it faded into a deadly mask. He sliced through his ankle chains, and sent a barrage of shots towards his old jailors who were only just beginning to recover from Taiyang's attack.

"Qrow! Where's my delivery?" he shouted as he strained against his bonds.

Qrow shut his eyes. "Coming." With a snick his sword severed Taiyang's bonds just as another package was carried in by several birds. Taiyang caught his weapons on his fists. He'd taught Yang how to fight so it was only to be expected that Ember Celica would have been based off of his.

Her gauntlets were more modern, using advanced alloys and contracting mechanisms. Taiyang's looked more at home in the hands of a gladiator. They enclosed his entire fist in wrought metal and were covered in spikes and blades.

Not that they were entirely prehistoric. As Taiyang leapt to attack the White Fang who had held him captive electricity arced between the raised surfaces. He fought like a boxer, concentrating on pummelling his opposition, unlike Yang who had also learned to use the rest of her body.

He was no less effective for it though. He downed the four nearest White Fang in twice as many heartbeats before he ran to where his daughter, Sun, and Blake were standing frozen. They'd all made their peace when they'd believed it was the end. Now it turned out that the rescue hadn't even been needed and the situation had completely mutated.

Yang had never seen her uncle utilise his Semblance to this degree. Normally he'd used it as a party trick to make one of them of laugh. Summer in particular had been fond of bright songbirds singing in their garden. It had been something that Qrow used to create beauty.

It was not the case here. The cawing racket was nightmare inducing. Almost every living figure in sight was surrounded by a swirling mob and when Yang did manage to catch a glimpse of the person inside she wished she hadn't.

The birds may not have been able to damage armour, but the White Fang had long since abandoned their own masks. The skin of their faces was being shredded. Their Auras might have been able to shrug off numerous attacks, but the birds just kept coming, and they were unable to fight them.

Yang didn't have a clue how she'd have managed. Sure it would have been possible to knock some out of the air. A single punch would have killed or crippled them, but there were dozens. Only one corner of the hall was having success against them. Tongues of flame lashing out from one of the White Fang member's weapons.

Burning birds tumbled to the floor all around them and the White Fang were just beginning to establish a bastion against the chaos when a portal appeared behind them. Raven was only there for the briefest second, her red blade cutting through one of flamethrowers pipes before she was gone. The corner erupted as the Dust of her weapon set the fuel lines ablaze. That was how Raven fought. She was very rarely in the same place for more than few strikes. She sowed confusion amongst their ranks, striking where they were weakest. Yang saw her mother kill repeatedly and without mercy.

"Yang are you ok?" Taiyang reached her, attempting to shield her from any harm. The odd Knight had begun to target them, but the two Branwens showed them the error their ways.

Qrow fought a lot like his sister, and a lot like Ruby. He hadn't yet deployed his weapon fully, but the similarities were there. He used recoil to accentuate his attacks, never wasting a shot when he could direct it into another target. He was maintaining a circle of safety around them.

"Yeah I'm fine," Yang answered her dad.

"Blake? Sun?" Taiyang took a little while to remember their names and didn't seem sure. Yang guessed that Ruby must have told him about their friends, because she certainly hadn't.

"We're good," Sun said. "So I think this is the part of the plan where we escape before we all die."

Taiyang grinned. "I like that option." He turned trying to locate a blur of red and black in the mayhem. "Raven get us out of here!"

In the act of taking an arm off a Knight with her now yellow ōdachi, Raven glanced up locating the source of the cry. Up to that point she hadn't even looked at her daughter, but Yang met her eyes. Or at least the eyes of the mask. What was under it she couldn't say. Raven's head moved on quickly, almost as if she'd jerked it from her.

Raven spun away, her sword slicing through a chest plate as if the composite was made of paper, before she twitched her wrist. The entire blade of her weapon was thrown clear, landing in the midst of the group of White Fang and Knights nearest to her daughter. The concussive force of the blade shattering blew the cluster apart, tendrils of electricity whipping at everything in range.

With the distraction she crossed the final few yards in a heartbeat. Her hilt went back to her scabbard and the mechanism stirred, a new blade being formed. Raven didn't say anything; she paused for a moment with her head bowed before waving her hand.

Another portal ripped through the fabric of reality. This one was bigger than the others and the pulsing sound of it drilled into Yang's skull. Her dad shepherded them nearer to it. "Qrow!" he shouted trusting that his old partner would know what was going on.

"Get through it," Taiyang yelled at them. Yang hesitated. She'd expected to be able to see their destination ̶ ̶ that was how portals always worked in the movies ̶ but instead there was only the deepest, inky darkness. It would be as if she were stepping into the abyss itself.

Taiyang didn't give them another moment to make a decision. He couldn't in the midst of what was going on all around. Yang felt a large hand settle on her back before it thrust her forward. Her first experience of translocation was not pleasant. It almost felt as if she were being simultaneously ripped apart and crushed into a ball. Her head span and bile filled her mouth.

Yang fell to her knees and threw up. It was only after a moment that she realised that instead of her vomit falling into oblivion, it had instead splattered on a soft rug. In her misery the time moving through the portal had seemed to last for an age, but in reality it just been a step. A step that had taken her to wherever she was now.

Despite her queasiness Yang raised her head. She was in a darkened apartment, larger than most she'd gotten used to in the past few months, but it was sparsely furnished. Sun and Blake were either side of her. Sun appeared to have coped with traversing the portal worse than her, and even Blake's face was green.

The incessant cawing, shouting, and gunfire shut off as if a switch had been flipped. Slowly Yang rotated on the spot and was met by the remnants of team STRQ. After so long, after she'd risked so much to save them, her attention should have gravitated towards her dad and uncle, but inexorably it was drawn to another target.

Raven stood behind her teammates, almost using them as a shield. Her gaze was distinctly in the opposite direction of her daughter. If possible she appeared even more terrifying in the half-light of the room; the moon glistening off the white of her Nevermore mask where it wasn't drenched with blood.

Yang had imagined this scene so many times. So many. In some she'd spotted her mother across the aisles in a store, they'd run to each other and hugged, her mother apologising for leaving and swearing it would never happen again. Those fantasies had been when she was younger, more forgiving.

Lately she just wanted answers. She didn't much care how she got them, but she never thought the first memories of the woman who'd given birth to her would be like this. With her wearing the head of the Grimm and having just cut down who knew how many people? Her parents had always told her that Qrow had been the strongest fighter of their team; that didn't appear to be the case now. She'd moved with almost inhuman speed, but then, she was inhuman. Surely a human would at least look at the daughter she'd abandoned.

"Yang are you hurt?" Taiyang knelt in front of her, his torso obscuring Raven from her sight. His large hands gripped her shoulders and turned her around roughly as he searched for wounds.

Yang attempted to shrug from his grasp but as always her strength was no match for his. "Dad I'm fine." He'd always cared for both her and Ruby, despite the neglect they'd suffered. In his sober moments he was a great dad, but the fully sober moments were far too far apart for Yang to avoid resenting him. He'd left her on her own to cope with both hers and Ruby's grief. No parent should have done that, no matter what they were going through.

But it wasn't the first time he'd lost someone. Not the first time he'd had to cope with it. Yang could lay that blame at Raven's door as well. She was just as responsible for her ruined childhood as her dad was.

"Are you sure?" Taiyang didn't let up in his visual inspection.

"Yes Dad. I'm sure my arm's not hanging off." Any further retort was curtailed as she had to swallow back more bile. Her dad jerking around was not helping her nausea.

It was that sudden swallow that caused him to finally release her. Yang almost punched him when he had the audacity to grin. "It's a little bit rough the first time isn't it?"

Rough… was one way to describe travelling through a portal. Yang couldn't help but remember that he'd pushed her. Perhaps in a few months her stomach might not feel inside out, but at this very moment it did.

"It'll pass in a few minutes. Just stay still. Are the rest of you ok? Apart from that, that is?" Taiyang visually inspected his daughter's two friends.

"Yes," Blake said in a small voice as she rubbed Sun's back who was still leant over his own pool of sick. Whoever was the owner of the carpet was not going to be happy, but considering how things had been looking, a little nausea was nothing. They'd almost died. A thought obviously shared by Taiyang.

"Yang, what on Remnant do you think you were doing?"

"We were rescuing you," Yang said indignantly.

"You decided to attack a building full of the White Fang, with three of you," his baritone cracked with disbelief and worry. "You almost got yourselves killed!"

They almost had. They'd made a massive tactical blunder, but her dad's rendition was selling them short. "It wasn't just the three of us; the rest of our team drew most of the guards away. There just shouldn't have been that many inside."

"We wondered what that was." Even they must have been able to hear the initial stage of the distraction. "But Yang, I thought I taught you better than that. The whole thing reeked of it being a trap." Blake had the good grace not to say  _I told you so._ "You shouldn't have risked yourself or your friends."

"So I was supposed to leave you to die?" Yang spat at him. Surely he understood, after losing so much as well, it was a pain she never wanted to experience again.

"Yes," he said as if they'd arrived at a much sought after destination. "As a hunter you've got to pick your fights Yang. This wasn't one that you would ever have been able to win. Even if it hadn't been a trap, there would have been too many guards regardless. You're not invincible."

"I know I'm not invincible!" Yang's rising anger was doing a good job of banishing her nausea. "Don't you dare tell me otherwise. You have no clue what I've been through." After everything she'd seen and done, she didn't need lectures on her own mortality or others. In the frantic evacuation of Vale she'd had more than enough examples to know that hunters were neither immortal nor omnipotent.

Taiyang nodded passively waiting for his daughter's rage to pass with an expression that spoke of long experience. "You're right I don't. I shouldn't have said that. But Yang I just want you to think before throwing yourself into dangerous situations. You can't let your emotions guide you. It would have crushed Ruby if anything had happened to you, and me."

The last was added almost as an afterthought. Taiyang wasn't stupid; he was well aware what his abuse of alcohol had done to the relationship with his eldest daughter. He knew she resented him as much as she loved him. From his side, it was all love however.

The mention of her sister brought Yang right back down, perhaps as her dad had intended. Ruby had come within heartbeats of the last of her family being torn away. It would just have been her and Weiss. It was at least a blessing that she wouldn't have been alone, but their deaths would still have ripped her apart. Yang had let her sister down badly today. So badly it made her burn with shame.

Taiyang sensed it. "But we're all ok," he said in an upbeat voice. That didn't help, but it at least distracted her.

"Just, how?" She wouldn't be able to forget the swirling swarm of birds or blood for a long time. It was added to the ever-growing list of horrific things that her mind could torment her with. "What happened in there? You weren't captured were you?" Yang asked through gritted teeth. The ease with which Qrow and Taiyang had escaped spoke of long planning. If that was the case she'd put all her friends in danger for absolutely no reason, not to mention the anguish they'd caused her.

"No," Taiyang admitted.

Yang's blood rose. All it would have taken was one message. Surely her dad and uncle could have arranged that. Even if it had to be carried by a bloody bird. One message that would have stopped her from thinking they were going to be executed for propaganda.

"Then why didn't you fucking tell me!" This time she did shout, causing her dad to jump. Even he wasn't use to her being this on edge, but he hadn't spoken a single word to her since the fall of Vale. He hadn't witnessed how much she'd changed.

"I didn't even know you were here. I thought you were safe in Atlas with Ruby, she's not ̶ ̶ "

"No. She's still in Atlas with Weiss," Yang cut through that thought instantly. Relief filled her dad's eyes.

"I'm thankful for that, but that's where you should be Yang. Not back here."

"It's not like I had much of a choice," Yang spat.

"What?"

"Oh, didn't you know? I'm officially a member of Vale's army and when you're given an order with the threat of treason and execution, there's not much else to do but carry it out."

"Army? You're too young."

"Try telling that to Ozpin," her rapidly deteriorating opinion of her headmaster was carried in her tone.

"Ozpin? What's he have to do with this?"

"As in practically the supreme leader of Vale Ozpin. Haven't you heard anything?" Her dad's complete lack of knowledge was shocking.

"Not really no. After the CCT went down Patch was largely cut off. We didn't know about Ozpin and we had no clue about you. I would have told you. I did write you a letter in case…" he trailed off unwilling to say it. Yang didn't want to hear that either.

"But didn't Torchwick at least mention me?"

"Torchwick," Taiyang's jaw jutted. "You know him?"

"Know him? He's been bossing us around since we got here."

"I am going to skin that man," Taiyang hissed through gritted teeth.

_Get in line_ , Yang thought. There's no way he hadn't made the connection. Not when he seemed to know everything else about them. All it would have taken was a single message, but he hadn't. The pair of them could make their  _discussion_  family bonding time. One could manage his psychotic bodyguard while the other helped Torchwick learn what constitutes  _need to know_  knowledge.

They seethed in their mutual anger for a moment before Yang spoke again. "But what were you planning anyway? Why did you let them capture you?"

Taiyang stroked his jaw. "In all honesty we got tired of Patch. Nothing we were doing there mattered. We didn't have the numbers to cover the entire island. So we thought we might pay Vale a visit, and what better way than an all-expenses paid tour?"

Her father's glib attitude about something so serious didn't help her mood. "But why? What was in Vale?" she growled.

"The White Fang," Taiyang said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Or more specifically their leadership. We wanted to get close enough to decapitate them."

_Did it never end?_  Yang had only just started to come to terms with what Blake had done, and here was her own dad speaking so lightly of a planned assassination. Yang had to assess whether she was the abnormal one in thinking killing should be a last resort.

"Well you would have failed," Yang spat. They had no idea what they walking into. They might have been able to kill Adam and the rest of the White Fang elite ̶ ̶ she honestly didn't know how that fight would have played out ̶ ̶ but they wouldn't have been able to lay a finger on Cinder. They didn't know anything about her. None of them did really. Apart from…

Yang looked towards Raven remembering the first time she'd seen her that mask. On the figure that had protected Cinder in her fight against Ozpin. There was no questioning it. Raven was working with the people who were responsible for the fall of Vale. The murder of so many. Her own mother… The thought made her sick. She was surrounded by death.

For her part Raven had stayed silent in the exchange between Yang and her father. Everyone had. Blake had just watched, Sun didn't appear capable of talking yet, and Qrow was glaring at his sister who was slowly edging away from the rest of them, one step at a time.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going!" Qrow shouted. He might have normally been laid back, but his sobriety and his encounter with a ghost had pushed him to the edge. "You do not get to waltz back in here after this long and leave without a word."

Raven had frozen in her retreat at his shout, almost like a startled deer lit up by headlights.

"Are you not going to say anything? Not even 'Hello brother, long time no see'?" Qrow managed to restrain himself for a moment more. "Well!"

The room had fallen silent. Entirely silent. Even Sun had ceased his heaving. They were all staring at Raven and she wasn't able to withstand the intensity of their gazes. "I…" she turned away.

"And take that fucking mask off. I want to see the face of the sister that let me believe she was dead!" Qrow's anger blazed brighter than anyone else's. It was only matched by the hurt in his voice.

Raven's hands shook before slowly they moved to her head. It was obvious she wanted to run, to flee. So obvious. But she couldn't, not now. It took her a while to unhook her Nevermore mask and even longer to remove it. When she finally did, she revealed a mirror.

Or at least that was how it appeared to Yang. Her mother didn't  _look like her_ , they were close to identical. The same shaped face, the same shaped eyes, the same nose. If Yang had ever doubted that the woman in front of her wasn't the person who'd given birth to her, those doubts were erased. By looking at Raven Yang was given a glimpse into the intricacies of how her appearance would change as she aged.

Yang finally had the chance to look upon the face of her mother and it was one filled with trepidation and shame. She avoided all of their gazes, concentrating on laying her mask on the nearest table and smoothing the feather headpiece.

Qrow wasn't content to let her have that moment. "Well sis? Don't I get an explanation? Or anything?" he advanced on her.

"I… I…" Raven shied away from him.

"Look me in the eyes and explain yourself." In his anger he seemed to tower over her. She might have laid waste to a room full of soldiers and androids, but in this she was a little sister overwhelmed by a brother's wrath. "Or better yet look into the eyes of your daughter and tell her why you abandoned her!" He stepped aside and waved his arm towards where Yang was coming to her feet.

Raven shot her the briefest look out of the corner of her eyes before jerking her gaze away. "Qrow…" It was a plea for mercy; one which fell on deaf ears.

"No. You do not get to play the sympathy card. Not after what you've done. Do you even know that Summer's dead!"

A knife twisted in Yang's gut. No matter what happened here Summer would always be her  _mum_. Raven had long since lost that right. Qrow's callous attack hurt Taiyang as well, judging by his pained expression, but it finally got a reaction out of Raven.

"Of course I know!" Raven's jaw jutted in a way that was so familiar to Yang, she had the same fire in her eyes. "She was my closest friend! I loved her. She was the best of us."

"And yet you couldn't even be bothered to come to her funeral."

"I was there!"

"What?" Some of the fire was robbed from Qrow.

"I was there," Raven repeated quietly.

If Yang had believed that this reunion couldn't get any more painful she was proven wrong. Her heart wrenched in her chest. She could remember the funeral like it was yesterday. The biting sting of the wind on the clifftop, the grey clouds overhead providing a fitting backdrop for her utter despair.

They hadn't buried Summer. There hadn't been enough to bury. There often wasn't when one died fighting the Grimm. Her dad and uncle had never told her just what they found when they went to look for her after she didn't return from what should have been a simple hunt, but it had clearly left them scarred. In all honesty it was a piece of knowledge that was better left untouched.

They'd erected a modest monument on the clifftop near their house. A location that Summer had loved to take her family and sit looking at the forest far below. It had been their special place. Few would venture from the safety of a settlement simply to observe beauty. Summer had thought it worth the risk, even with two young daughters in tow.

The ceremony had been simple. There hadn't been many people, just those of Summer's friends from Beacon who'd been able to make it back to Patch. Yang hadn't known most of them, she hadn't wanted them to be there either, not when their condolences failed to bring her mum back, but at least she'd been coping better than Ruby.

Her sister had clung onto her. Ruby had been in shock ever since her dad had told them. She hadn't understood. Even after the funeral, she hadn't believed her mum was dead. All she knew was that everyone around her was sad so that made her sad as well, she'd wanted Summer to come and cheer them all up.

Though no one had said anything, and Yang hadn't realised at the time, there had been an almost unconscious space left for another mourner. One who had never arrived. The other member of the team her mum had led.

"You were there," Qrow growled.

"Yes… I wanted to say goodbye."

"Why on Remnant didn't you come to us?"

"I thought about it… I wanted to…" Raven's voice cracked as she stole another look at her daughter, longing on her face. "It had just been too long," she finished lamely.

"You're damn right it had been too long. But it was even longer before today. So why now?"

"You were in danger. I couldn't let them hurt Y ̶ ̶ " her voice cut off as if she wasn't even able to say the name.

"So you just think you can walk back in here because you did one good deed and we'll forget everything."

"Of course I don't. Don't you think I know that I've lost everything?"

Yang could almost hear the tears behind the words. She steeled her heart. This was the woman who'd abandoned her as a baby. Nothing could make up for that. Nothing.

"Then why did you leave? Tell me why? Explain it to me. Or better yet explain it to the daughter you left in her crib. I don't need to hear it. She does." Qrow gestured at Yang and Raven could avoid her no more.

Raven's lip trembled as she turned to her daughter and took a hesitant step towards to her. "Yang…"

That name from those lips. It shouldn't have affected Yang; it was just a stranger saying her name after all. Someone she didn't know. And yet the single tentative word carved straight to her heart and set it squirming in her chest. It hurt. It physically hurt.

"Don't call me that." Yang said angrily. Raven hadn't earned the right to make her feel like this.

They were the first words that Raven had ever had addressed to her from her daughter. The venom in them rocked her back. She'd undoubtedly imagined this day as well, but only on her darkest would she have imagined such a hostile greeting. One where she wasn't even able to say her daughter's name. The one she'd given her.

"Then what?" Raven said her heart visibly breaking.

Yang didn't manage to speak, her only answer was a shrug. She wasn't prepared for this, no matter how many years she'd waited. She just didn't know what to do. How to handle this.

Raven seemed to be on the verge of tears. She raised her hand towards her daughter's face. "I love you."

The dark room suddenly turned bright as Yang caught fire. "Then why did you leave me!" she screamed, the anguish she'd carried ever since she'd been able to understand that fact ripping from her.

Raven flinched from her. Everyone in the room did. Flames streamed down her body and her eyes glowed incarnadine until they could have been a reflection of Raven's.

Her mother didn't answer immediately. Her gaze flicked around the room as if trying to calculate the easiest route of escape. Even running would be kinder on her than the knowledge of how much her daughter hated her. As a distant observer she hadn't had to deal with that pain, now she did.

"You were safer without me there," Raven whispered in a complete antithesis with her daughter's volume.

The answer only incensed Yang more. She took a step towards Raven filled with the desire to lash out. "How was I safer without my mum!"

Raven chose her words carefully. She could sense that Yang was only moments from attacking her. It didn't matter; there was no physical pain which could match the torment she had suffered all these long years.

"I was a danger to you. People would have used you to hurt me. Your only chance of a normal childhood was one without me in it. I did it for you."

It was that last remark which caused Yang to snap. Her fist swung out and caught Raven squarely on the cheek. Her Aura was weakened and blood spurted from where Yang's knuckle met bone. Raven dropped to one knee.

It should have made Yang feel better. Striking out always had in the past. It made her feel powerful, like she was in control. She'd brought Raven to her knees. Returned some of the pain. Taught her a lesson.

It didn't. A fight would have been easy. She could have worked out her emotions, but Raven hadn't fought. She hadn't tried to defend herself against her daughter. She couldn't. Even now all she did was look up at her attacker, blood streaming from the cut on her cheek.

In that moment, at seeing the expression on her mother's face, the one that seemed to say she was fully deserving of that strike and more, the fight went out of Yang. As much as she hated herself for it, guilt wracked her.

Taiyang didn't realise her new resolve. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, pinning her own to her sides. The tightness of his grip perhaps suggested he expected her to struggle, instead she just stood limply.

Raven didn't move to stem the blood, not with her fingers or her Aura, instead it just welled out as she looked up at her daughter. If she was trying to make Yang feel worse it was working. In the end it was her brother who sought to stem the flow. She flinched from his touch.

"Hold still," Qrow might have been furious, but she was still his sister. "Heal it."

"It's nothing," Raven said without emotion rising to her feet. It was only then that Qrow noticed that the back of her boot was damp with blood.

"Is that nothing?" he asked bending down to look at the cut on her thigh. It wasn't deep but it was long. A sword or knife having found the flesh just above the armoured greaves.

Raven twisted her leg to look. It didn't appear that she'd even noticed. "Yes."

"Yes? You're bleeding."

"It's a scratch."

"Oh so I'm just meant to let you bleed on the carpet am I?" Qrow snapped.

"Yes." Raven said returning her gaze to her limp daughter.

"Fine then." Qrow moved to stand next to where Taiyang was still holding Yang. "Why don't you tell us what danger you were in? What people could threaten Yang? Did it escape you notice that the four of us were hunters?"

Raven took some time to mull over an answer; when she found one it was delivered in a deathly neutral tone. "You are unaware of much. There are enemies that you simply cannot fight."

Qrow wasn't buying it. "Yeah right. After all we've been through, all I've seen. I know I would have been able to keep my niece safe. And if I could, you could have to."

"Then you are fool. Powers exist in this world that are greater than you. Powers beyond your comprehension."

"And I'm meant to believe they would have been able to best the four of us? The team that graduated at the top of Beacon."

"Yes."

"That's bullshit!"

"And yet it is the truth. It was for Yang's sake that I have to leave her."

"How can you say that with a straight face?" Blake asked disbelievingly from the side. Up until this point she and Sun had retreated to a corner ̶ ̶ appearing that they would have preferred to be anywhere else than in the vicinity of family dispute of this size ̶ ̶ but now something had caused Blake to speak up. Her voice trembled with emotion.

"This matter does not concern you," Raven dismissed her. "You know nothing of being a mother."

"Only because I didn't have the chance!" Something ugly tore its way out of Blake. Her hand covered her mouth, for a moment she seemed shocked by her own declaration. "Only because I didn't have the chance," she whispered it the second time and turned away, hugging herself.

Her cry stunned them, Yang most of all. She didn't know what Blake was referring to, but it was clearly traumatic. The emotional turmoil had drained her of energy, but the suffering of her partner was one of the few things that could break through the haze that had been clouding her mind. She gently levered her dad's arms apart and approached her friend. "Blake…"

Blake's body heaved as she wept silently. Yang laid what she hoped was a comforting hand against her back. It must have been for a second later, Blake turned around and threw herself into Yang's embrace, hiding her face in Yang's shoulder.

Though instinctively she did as she always had for Ruby ̶ ̶ wrapping her arms around the crying girl while increasing her body's core temperature ̶ ̶ her mind was reeling. She had no idea what could have caused Blake to turn into a wreck so quickly. Blake had been through so much, explained so much to her, and yet this appeared to trump them all.

No one in the room moved. The passive aggressive atmosphere had mutated into something different. Only Sun looked like he wanted to comfort Blake, but she was already in Yang's arms.

Yang didn't know how long Blake cried against her, but it was until her blouse was wet against her skin. It was only when Blake pulled away from her that Yang risked a question. "Blake?" she didn't need to say more.

Blake sniffed, wiping her nose with the back of a hand. Her eyes were entirely red and she appeared more miserable than Yang had ever seen her before. "I never had the chance," she repeated in a voice Yang wasn't sure that anyone else heard.

"The chance to?" Yang led.

Blake almost clammed up. She almost didn't say anything. Offer any explanation. Yang saw the consideration of that possible escape flit through her amber eyes. Yang would have let her. This was Blake's burden to bear and share as she so desired. But in a halting voice she did speak, loud enough for Raven and the others to hear.

"I told you before, about Adam. I didn't tell you that when we…" Blake stopped clearly unable to confess to the act that now repulsed her. "I… I got pregnant."

Yang tried to keep any emotion from her face. This was big… perhaps bigger than anything Blake had confided in her before. For Yang pregnancy was just a present fear and perhaps a distant opportunity. That was all. She couldn't imagine going through that on top of everything else Blake had in her time in the White Fang.

"I… I didn't realise. I wasn't late; they were just a little lighter. I didn't know…" Blake started to choke up again. "I didn't even stop drinking."

The guilt. The absolute utter loathing of herself radiated from her and such was its power it almost seemed to sear Yang's skin. It was almost too much for her. She just wanted to hold Blake, make it better, but inside she knew that she simply didn't have that power. In her time on this planet she'd done some things that had made her hate herself, but no feeling she'd experienced was able to compare to the one coursing through Blake's veins.

"There was a raid. It wasn't a big one. But I got kicked in the stomach. It barely made it through my Aura. I thought I was ok. It was only a few hours later that I felt something was wrong. I was bleeding. The doctor told me what I'd done. That I'd killed him…"

That hit Yang hard. So hard. Even if it wasn't Blake's fault. Even if it was almost unavoidable. If that had happened to Yang she knew it would have torn her apart, but at least she would have had support. In the White Fang Blake would only have had the sociopath who'd raped her. On top of the death of her parents, it might well have proved too much.

"You didn't," Yang attempted to console her. She didn't know how to deal with this, but no one else was coming to help.

"I did. I should have known. How the fuck did I not know? It's my body!"

Yang couldn't answer that either. If it had happened to her she was sure she would have realised, but then Blake had probably thought so too. "Some people don't. It's not your fault." It truly wasn't. At any age it would have been forgivable, as young as Blake had to have been and under those circumstances it completely was. Blake didn't believe her.

"It was! Even if I hadn't killed him, I'd been drinking. He probably would have been retarded because of me! No one else!"

There was nothing Yang could say in answer. This was clearly an argument that Blake had had internally scores of times before. More than anything Yang wanted to help her, alleviate the rampaging blame, but she couldn't. She could only watch helplessly as Blake spiralled downwards.

Blake rounded on Raven, the reason she was bearing her innermost self to all of them coming back to her. "So no I don't know what it's like to be a mother! But if I did I wouldn't have abandoned him! No matter what!"

The suffering and accusation in Blake's tone struck Raven deeply. Pain flashed across her features. She hesitated, trying and failing to justify her actions to Blake. "No one should have had to experience that, but ̶ ̶ "

"No! You don't get to say 'but'. She's your daughter. You should have been there for her. Can you honestly look her in the eye and say she was better off without you?"

Raven tried, she even met Yang's gaze, but the words seized up in her throat. She couldn't say something she didn't believe. Despite her assurance that it had been for Yang's benefit, she knew how much it had hurt both of them.

Blake noticed her hesitation. "I don't have the chance to make it right. You do. If you just come down off your damn high horse. Admit that you were wrong. That you abandoned her for nothing."

Up to that point Blake may have been winning her around, but at her latest assertion Raven's figure regained some of its conviction. "I didn't. Whether you choose to believe it or not my presence would have been a danger to her."

"But why?" This time Taiyang spoke up. "I would have died before I let anything happen to Yang."

"Yes, you would have died, and after that so would she. All to send me a message."

"What message? What were you mixed up in? What are you mixed up in?"

"You mean Cinder don't you?" Yang said coming forwards and resting a hand on Blake's still trembling back. "That's who you're mixed up with. Who threatened you."

Raven's eyes snapped open. "How do you know that name?"

Yang wasn't sure if she should reveal her sources to her mother, the enemy, so instead she decided to ignore the question. "We saw her fight with Ozpin. We saw you… and Adam. You were responsible for it all." To cap off the involvement of almost everyone in her life with death her mother was responsible for thousands. Tens of thousands.

"It's more complicated than that," Raven said defensively.

"How is it?" Yang was doing her best not to scream no matter how much she wanted to. "You were working with the White Fang, with Cinder. I don't care if she forced you."

"Yang." The name from those lips still hurt. "There are things about the world that you don't understand."

"You keep saying that. Why don't you tell me?"

Raven shook her head. "It is not my place. But the peace between the Kingdoms was not going to last. A war was coming. You must have felt it. The Faunus would have risen up regardless, and the slaughter would have been terrible. We tried to negate that. You can't say that what we achieved here was not worth striving for."

Her mother was utterly deluded. That was the only excuse Yang could concoct for her. This Vale might have seen the Faunus thrive, but it had only been by clambering over the graves of so many. Nothing was worth that. Looking at her own mother made her sick.

Raven spoke to all them. "Ultimately we failed. You need to get out of the city. It will fall."

Yang laughed. Such a harsh and cruel laugh. One that must have pierced straight into Raven's heart. "It might have escaped your notice, but we're not the criminals here." Yang wasn't even sure that they shouldn't try and capture her mother, bring her to justice. It was the right thing to do surely.

When Raven spoke her voice was ice-cold. "I did not say it would fall to the side of  _good_."

That confused them all. The only force moving towards Vale was an Atlesian one. "You're crazy."

"Quite probably," Raven nodded. "But you will witness that I am right. Perhaps then you will begin to see the truth."

Yang scoffed. Raven might have been her mother ̶ ̶ the mother she'd finally found after so long of craving ̶ ̶ but in all honesty after actually meeting her, she didn't know if she wanted the slightest bit to do with her.

Raven saw the disgust in her daughter's eyes and it hurt far more than her still bleeding cuts ever could. She waved her hand and a portal opened near the wall. "It will take you to an abandoned warehouse in the industrial district. You will be able to return to your safe houses from there." She paused as if debating something internally before stepping closer to her daughter. "Yang, I want you to know that I love you. That I've always loved you…" she choked up. "I'm so proud of you."

Yang felt a tightness in her own throat. It was no act. There was no doubt in her mind that they were her mother's real feelings, and they were all the worse because of it. She didn't want to empathise with the woman who'd abandoned her, who'd killed so many. It would drive her mad.

To save herself she turned away. Turned her back on the woman who'd given birth to her. She didn't know what the future would hold. Maybe after some time she would have been able to collate her thoughts, but right now it was simply too much.

It was that which hurt Raven most if all. If Yang had turned around as she stepped into the inky blackness she would have seen Raven standing straight, her face straining against her immense emotional turmoil. But Yang didn't look back until the darkness had swallowed her.

Sun helped Blake through the portal, she at least shooting a hate-filled glare Raven's way. It would have been bad enough if she was simply Yang's mother, but she was also working with those that Blake so despised.

Finally it was just Raven and her old two teammates. Men she loved, and men she'd lost. They spoke quietly for a few minutes. They were all far too emotionally drained to delve any more into the distant past; instead they only made sure that Raven would not disappear from their lives again. They both stepped through the portal. Going to comfort the family that Raven knew she didn't have anymore.

Raven stood alone in a dark and cold room. She waved her trembling hand. It was only then, as the portal collapsed into nothingness, sealing her off from the daughter she loved with her entire heart, that Raven allowed silent tears to stream down her face.

 


	30. Chapter 30

"Pyrrha what's wrong?" Nora asked, concern filling her voice as she rose from where she'd been leaning on a snow-covered log.

Pyrrha's hands had clamped to her skull, her fingers entwined in her hair, and her face screwed up in absolute agony. The pain was so intense Nora almost swore she could feel it being transmitted in the air. Pyrrha's left leg twitched and she collapsed onto the frozen ground.

"Pyrrha!" Nora jumped up and raced over to her, skidding to a stop beside her friend. "Ren!" she called as loudly as she dared in the dead silence of the white forest.

Nora crouched down and grasped Pyrrha's wrists. "What's wrong?" she repeated feeling utterly helpless.

Whatever was happening to her she'd only just found had come entirely out of the blue. Pyrrha had been fine beforehand, or at least she'd told them she'd been fine. On their trek through the knee-deep snowdrifts it had been Pyrrha ploughing a path for them, and appearing as if she couldn't even feel the bitterly cold wind.

Her cheeks had been red by the time they'd arrived, but all of theirs had. Nora hadn't even been able to feel her fingers and had been close to regretting even agreeing to this insane venture, but then she remembered just what Pyrrha had shown her. She remembered the screams. The screams that were the centrepiece of her most recent nightmares; ones that not even Ren's comforting presence was able to shield her from.

They had to stand against it, no matter who was ultimately in control of the program. The oaths they had sworn on their first day in Beacon demanded it. Some things simply couldn't be justified, no matter the cause, and torturing children was one of them.

It was why they'd agreed to have Pyrrha's back every step of the way on her mission. She might have run off to start it without them, believing they would never agree to it, and maybe at the time they wouldn't have, but they would finish it with her. One way or another.

The things Pyrrha had told them, no matter how far-fetched they seemed ̶ ̶ and privately when Pyrrha was asleep she and Ren had discussed their validity at length ̶ ̶ showed that Enerdyne really wasn't messing around. Even if half of Pyrrha's warnings were true, they were perhaps the most dangerous company on the planet.

That was why they'd trekked across the tundra, trusting in the snowfall to conceal them, all so Enerdyne didn't learn that their last stronghold had been unearthed. And it was a stronghold. Built into sheer cliffs, likely extending deep into the basalt, it could have been a stereotypical evil lair from a movie. It was certainly formidable enough.

There were fences, walls, trenches, machine gun nests, Paladins, even what appeared to be mortar pits. It seemed to have been built to withstand an army, not just a Grimm attack. It would have taken a Goliath to breach its defences.

The dozens of soldiers on duty in the days they'd been watching had spent their time in the unenviable struggle to keep the parade ground and walkways clear, and the watchtowers manned. To Nora's eye the base was impregnable.

She didn't understand why they were still here. They couldn't attack it. There was simply no way. They might have studied to be hunters sure, they might have had fully activated Auras and Semblances, but they were not invincible warriors. A dozen soldiers would likely have been too many for her to handle. They'd seen many times that in their observations.

Numbers weren't the only thing holding Nora back though. There was something more. They were people down there. They might have been working for an evil corporation, but she wasn't stupid enough to believe they all ate babies for breakfast. If she ran into them in a bar, most would likely be people she considered normal.

She was willing to kill the Grimm mercilessly, especially after what she'd seen them do in Vale, but not people. It wouldn't have been right. Even with armour, a single strike from Magnhild would likely have been enough to collapse a ribcage. Normal people, even soldiers, were often powerless in the face of hunters. To kill like that wouldn't have sat well with her in the slightest.

With so many soldiers and such stout defences, there was no way they could assault the base head on. Pyrrha would never give up though, not while she still blamed herself for Jaune's death. More than anything Nora wanted to snap Pyrrha out of it. Tell her it wasn't her fault, that she couldn't have prevented it.

She'd tried, she really had. The day after they'd found Pyrrha in the apartment when they'd been sitting alone together, she's attempted to get her teammate to open up. To explain what she'd been feeling. But the moment the subject of Jaune had been broached, Nora had been reacquainted as to just how close to the edge Pyrrha was. The flash of pain, guilt, and fury in her friend's eyes had rocked her back.

It had scared her. She was still able to recall with frightening clarity just how easily Pyrrha had bested her and Ren. The coldness of the knife against her neck, the ragged, uneven breaths. Pyrrha had always managed it in training, but never quite like that. She'd made them seem like unruly children before an adult. In her pain she'd transcended to a plane where Nora knew she was simply unable to exist.

It was probably why Pyrrha hadn't conceded that the base would be impossible to attack. She perhaps believed she'd find a way. That was the reason they'd been sleeping in a tent in the freezing cold. Why they'd spent days just watching. Why the pair of them had been sitting in their small clearing when Pyrrha collapsed.

Nora had known that something hadn't been quite right with her for some time. Foolishly she'd simply put the pained expressions down to Pyrrha's mental struggle, but that wouldn't have caused this. Nora had to fight against the iron-hardness of Pyrrha's muscles. If she'd have let her it seemed as if Pyrrha would have used her nails to tear her scalp clean off.

Ren arrived at a sprint, his pounding footsteps muffled in the almost fresh snow. He took one brief look at the situation before throwing himself down next to them.

"Take her legs," Nora cried as Pyrrha kicked out, her whole body beginning to spasm. It took all of Ren's weight to stop her, and Nora didn't know what to do. She'd read that in this scenario it was important to immobilise the head, but she didn't dare let go of Pyrrha's arms, not when she was unsure of what Pyrrha would do with her limbs. In the end she pressed her own chest against Pyrrha's trying to keep her bucking off the ground.

"What's going on?" Ren asked.

"I don't know," Nora hissed still fighting Pyrrha. "She just collapsed and then started doing this. You always paid more attention than me in class, what should we do?" As she normally did in times of distress, Nora turned to her best friend in the entire world.

Ren shook his head, unable to provide an answer. "It's almost as if she's having an allergic reaction to something."

That certainly did seem possible. It was with great distress that Nora saw that Pyrrha's eyes had rolled back in her head until the orbs were entirely white and red froth was gathering on her chafed lips. A new, more pressing fear overcame Nora.

She released Pyrrha's hands and scrabbled with her numerous layers of clothing to get to her belt buckle. The arms she'd just released roved randomly, one catching Nora in the side, but there was no real power behind the blow and she barely noticed in her struggles.

Finally she managed to whip her belt from her pants and scrambled round to Pyrrha's head, clamping it hard between her knees. "Get her neck." Ren did as he was told, stopping her chest from bucking.

The moment Pyrrha opened her mouth again Nora pressed her belt in between Pyrrha's blood-stained teeth, forcing her cheeks back as far as they would go. Pyrrha bit down hard, gouging into the leather.

"I don't think this is how you're meant to treat a seizure," Ren sounded unsure as he fought to still Pyrrha's torso.

Nora wasn't either. Maybe they weren't meant to do this for normal people, but Pyrrha wasn't a normal person. All students who trained to be hunters unconsciously used their Aura to enhance their muscles. It was part of the reason small girls like she was could swing round such large weapons with apparent ease. They learnt it at the same time as they learned to use their Aura defensively. If they did one without the other hunters could do themselves serious injury.

At this moment Pyrrha wasn't using her defensively. It was all being used offensively. It took both hers and Ren's efforts to stop Pyrrha bucking, her legs kicked out with a force that they shouldn't have been able to produce. The same could be said of her jaw.

The muscles bulged against the side of Nora's thighs and she began to believe her belt wouldn't be thick enough. Perhaps it was unwise to put something in a civilian's mouth when they were having a seizure, but they likely wouldn't have the strength to bite through their own tongue. Pyrrha did.

The red froth was evidence that she had already, and from the blood streaming from where the corners of her mouth were pressed back it was obvious her Aura hadn't healed the wound. If Pyrrha severed her tongue no strength of Aura would cause it to regrow. So Nora hung on, now faced with the challenge of the blood that would undoubtedly be pooling at the back of Pyrrha's mouth. Just waiting for the chance to slip down her throat.

Still keeping her belt in place Nora did the best to turn Pyrrha onto her side, Ren helping her as always. Thankfully it seemed to work, for though Pyrrha coughed occasionally, spraying carmine over the blank canvas in front of her, there were no sustained bursts.

With the situation seemingly controlled Nora managed to calm down somewhat. This was bringing back far too many memories. Memories of helplessness in the face of terminal illness. Of knowing there was no way to affect the battle that was happening in another's body. She hated it. Absolutely hated it. She'd lost before, she wasn't going to again.

Nora even had the audacity to believe the worst had passed as Pyrrha stopped spasming, her eyelids rolling shut. She let out a relived sigh. It was only then that she noticed that Pyrrha's cheeks were tinged with blue and her chest didn't appear to be moving beneath the bronze breastplate. "She's not breathing!"

Ren leapt up from where he was pinning her, letting out an uncharacteristic curse. Numb fingers attempted to undo the clasps holding the armour in place. Nora tried to help with the other. It took far longer than it should have, partly due to the panic and partly due to the cold.

When it finally came loose Ren tossed it away, and tore open the heavy blouse beneath. Unlike the two of them, Pyrrha had refused to wear a coat over her armour. The cold just hadn't seemed to affect her, but at least she'd worn thicker layers underneath than usual.

Ren put his ear against the soft material that was left shielding her breast and listened intently, his hand fishing for a limp wrist. He only held it for a moment before it confirmed his worst fears. He started to compress her chest rhythmically. "Her heart's stopped. Nora, airway."

Nora froze. Her entire body seized. This was literally her worst fear come to life. Every figment of anything associated with CPR evaporated from her mind only to be replaced by absolute terror. Ren roughly pushed her aside, pulling the belt from Pyrrha's now slack mouth.

He placed his ear up against her mouth momentarily before pinching her nostrils shut and locking his lips with hers. He blew out deeply, checking to see that her chest rose as her lungs filled, before repeating the action. Then he went back to her compressing her chest. "Come on Pyrrha," he growled. "Don't do this to me."

He continued the alternation of compressions and breaths for two more cycles, obviously becoming more desperate as there was no response even if that emotion didn't appear in his practiced movement. On the third cycle he found Nora ready and waiting for him, poised over Pyrrha's head.

It had taken her time to shake off the fog crowding her mind. But while there were some maladies that were simply unable to be treated; this was not one of them. She could help, just like Ren was helping. When he nodded gratefully at her, she pressed her own lips against Pyrrha's, and gifted her friend the breath from her lungs.

Nora was unsure just how long they toiled to keep Pyrrha alive in the weak sun that provided no warmth. All she knew is that she and Ren swapped positions several times, and neither of them were willing to give up. To abandon Pyrrha to oblivion.

It started to get dark and Nora's own muscles were burning with fatigue when Pyrrha finally started coughing. Hacking ones, that sprayed phlegm and blood over both of them. They didn't care in the slightest. Nora sank back on her haunches, utterly exhausted, both physically and more significantly mentally. She was entirely drained.

Ren took Pyrrha's pulse, kneeling there with his eyes closed as he counted. He tried to smile for her, but was clearly too tired. "It's a little irregular and slow, but I think her Aura has kicked in. She should be ok."

"Goo… good," Nora said her teeth chattering. She was freezing, they'd spent who knew how long exposed to the elements, and Pyrrha was likely worse. Most of her exposed skin was blue.

Ren noticed. "We should get inside. Warm up."

Nora only had the energy to nod. It was a good plan. Their tent was small, barely big enough for three people, but that at least meant it heated up quickly. It was an effort to drag Pyrrha to it. Her body was composed almost entirely of pure muscle.

"Go and link two of the sleeping bags, we'll need to keep her warm," Ren instructed Nora, and she did as she was told. Up till this point they'd slept individually. If you believed the survival guides it was actually warmer, but it wouldn't be in this case.

When she emerged, Ren was busy removing the rest of Pyrrha's armour. The cold metal didn't have enough fabric beneath it and would only leach heat from all of them. As laborious as the task was she gathered all the pieces of armour up and moved them into the tent, none of them would be pleased to have their prized equipment left outside to brave the elements.

Ren dragged Pyrrha into their shelter, manoeuvring her onto the unzipped sleeping bag before sealing them into the small enclosure. His hands shook with cold. Their clothes were damp with snow. They both knew what the most logical course of action was and set about stripping Pyrrha without a word.

Reduced to her underwear Pyrrha didn't look like a fearsome huntress who'd won multiple tournaments. She didn't look like the person dancing on the brink of sanity. Her body was still toned, athletic, her abdominals well-defined against her skin, but it was clear how much weight she'd lost over the past few months.

And just how little she'd been taking care of herself. The bones of her hips were jagged enough to be used as knife blades, her skin undulated over the uneven terrain that formed her ribcage where a bruise was beginning to blossom beneath her bra. Pyrrha almost looked like a highly fit model who'd resorted to starving herself to make the cut. Despite the definition in her muscles she clearly wasn't healthy.

As he so often did, Ren seemed to have read her mind. He was shaking his own head sadly as he knelt over her. "Come on, let's try and get warm."

It took them less time to get their wet clothes off, despite how they were wearing more layers, and they squeezed either side of Pyrrha as they struggled to zip the conjoined sleeping bag up around them.

Nora had only connected two together and they barely fit. It would be an uncomfortable night, but at least it would hopefully be a snug one. Pyrrha's skin was icy against her own and ignoring the discomfort she pressed up against her friend hard, almost willing her body heat across. She squeezed down and caught Pyrrha's freezing cold feet between her own. Ren had apparently had the same idea and together they managed to cover most of Pyrrha's extremities.

Nora lay there shivering as her friend and the frozen wasteland that was Atlas leached the heat from her body. But she didn't care. She'd almost lost Pyrrha today. It had come close. So unbelievably close that she'd almost felt Death's icy gaze hovering over them. But they'd beaten him back, and when she finally managed to slip into sleep, it was with Pyrrha's breath stirring the hair atop her head.

* * *

 

When Nora's eyes fluttered open the first thing she noticed was heat. After so long spent outside in the Atlesian Tundra, actually being warm was a novel experience. It seeped through her muscles and into her very bones. She let out a contented sigh.

It must have been early morning. There was enough light for her to see, but only just. Judging by the sagging canvas overhead their tent had been covered in snow. It was another layer of insulation to keep the heat in.

Even if Pyrrha's back was to her, Nora could see that her colour was much better. Her skin had lost its blue tinge and was now a healthy pink. Nora rested her ear against the back of Pyrrha's chest, listening to her body function. It sounded normal. The rhythm of her heart was reassuringly steady.

Nora blew out a breath in relief. Pyrrha had scared her half to death. No, it had been more than a half. A lot more. After only just finding her again, Pyrrha had almost slipped from their life. It would have been almost more than Nora could have coped with.

Some of her friends might not realise it, but to her they were family. Her only family. Other people had somewhere to go for the holidays, a home. She didn't. Her home was wherever Ren and her other friends were. Part of that home had already been torn down by Jaune's death. She missed him until it hurt, but she wouldn't let another part be sundered. No matter what it took, Pyrrha wasn't allowed to follow him. Even if she wanted to.

Nora knew that Pyrrha did. She'd seen that look before. The look that said there was nothing bright or worthwhile in the world any longer. Nora had seen it before whenever she'd gazed in a mirror. Sometimes she'd been so close to ending it all. Just believing nothing would ever get better again. Ren had helped her get through that, and now she had to help Pyrrha.

Lightly Nora stroked Pyrrha's side with the back of her hand. Though the soft skin concealed a distressingly low amount of fat below it, Pyrrha was reassuringly solid. She was there. With three of them crammed into a pair of sleeping bags it wasn't necessarily comfortable, but Nora didn't want to disturb either of them by trying to get up.

Normally she'd jump out of bed, excited to see what the day would bring. Looking forward was how she'd learned to cope with her grief. As long as she didn't look back, and knew about how proud her parents would have been of her, it wasn't too bad. At Beacon her team had gotten used to early mornings thanks to her.

Now though she was content just to lie there, basking in the warmth, listening to Ren and Pyrrha breathe, watching as the interior gradually brightened. It was too pleasant to disrupt. When Pyrrha did stir it was with a shiver that ran the length of her body.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha muttered subconsciously with such yearning Nora's heart broke anew.

Recovering from her ordeal ̶ ̶ where she'd been clinically dead for who knew how long ̶ ̶ Pyrrha had slept a deep sleep of exhaustion. She hadn't spoke at all, at least not while Nora had been listening. It wasn't the norm. In the short time the few nights they'd spent together, it was clear to her and Ren that Pyrrha dreamt of little else than her lost love.

As she closed on consciousness Nora could almost feel Pyrrha's longing. That was the worst bit about losing someone. They didn't stay lost. Every night they would appear to her again, so real it was more believable that reality. It wasn't reality though. It was just a dream, and the despair came crashing down even harder when she awoke.

Right now Pyrrha was lost in the place that no one ever wanted to leave. "I love you…" she whispered at a phantom.

"Pyrrha," Nora tried to rouse her, "Wake up." It wasn't pleasant to have to rip her from that island of hope, but she knew it was a kindness. No one could exist there forever.

Pyrrha twitched. "Jaune?" she asked her dream in response to the name her ears had registered.

"No…" If only it could have been Jaune. "It's Nora."

"Jaune," Pyrrha's muttered voice filled with joy. Her head moved forwards and Nora felt more than saw Ren start awake. She wasn't able to see past Pyrrha's shoulders, but she heard the unmistakable sound of moist flesh meeting moist flesh.

Pyrrha kissed  _Jaune._

"Pyrrha!" Ren sought to separate himself from her even in the confines of the sleeping bags.

Nora could tell the exact moment that Pyrrha escaped from the haze that had been over her mind. She didn't need to be able to see their faces to know both sets of eyes would be wide and their cheeks would be burning.

It was too much for Pyrrha. She likely didn't know how she'd ended up in this scenario, and then had the moment of pure happiness of her kissing Jaune taken from her. Nora received an elbow to the sternum and Pyrrha kicked her repeatedly in the attempt to struggle free of her confines.

Her Aura had been down, and Pyrrha's blow robbed the air from her lungs. All her attempted words to console and pacify her teammate came as nothing more than gasps. Padded material ripped and the length of Nora's body was suddenly exposed to cold air. The nonchalant ease that Pyrrha had shredded the sleeping bags using her Semblance on the zips only displayed her distress. She flung open the tent and disappeared into the whiteness outside.

"Pyrrha!" Nora's call barely made it from her throat in between her gasping breaths.

She was left cold, hurt, and staring at Ren who appeared to be mirroring many of her emotions. For him though surprise and shock were dominant. He'd been woken by a kiss from one of his friends who'd thought he was someone else. They stared into each other's eyes.

"Go after her," he said rising.

Nora threw on her clothes, ignoring the unpleasant clamminess, but Ren stopped her just before she raced outside. He passed her a bundle. Her guess had been right. Snow had fallen. Everything in sight was untouched and pristine. It was beautiful. The icicles hanging from the branches overhead sparkled in the morning sun. There was freshness to the cold air that cleared the sleep from her lungs. Nora would have enjoyed it more if not for her pressing concern.

Thankfully the snow made Pyrrha easy to track. Footprints led into the forest and Nora bounded after them. Pyrrha hadn't gone far.

It made Nora freeze just looking at her. Pyrrha's only protection against the frigid air was her underwear. She was hugging her body as her bare toes dug into the snow. Obviously realising her mistake, but too embarrassed to go back.

"Pyrrha…" Nora said as she approached cautiously, unwilling to cause her bolt again. Pyrrha didn't turn around, didn't move at all apart from shivering, and Nora draped a coat over her shoulders. Pyrrha nodded her thanks as she drew it tightly around herself.

"I've got some pants and boots too." They would do until they got back to their camp. It was with relief that she helped Pyrrha into them.

When she was in a more suitable sate of dress Pyrrha stepped away from her and spoke to the nearest tree. "I just miss him so much." It killed Nora to hear the audible representation of just how broken Pyrrha was.

"We all do," there wasn't much else she could say.

"I see him everywhere… I dream about him… I hear his voice… Even now I can almost feel him touching me."

"It's normal. You're grieving. Let it out." It was the wrong thing to say.

"Let it out!" Nora jumped as Pyrrha's fist slammed into the tree. The bark splintering instead of her hand at least showed her Aura was working properly again. Snow from the disturbed branches cascaded to the floor around them as Pyrrha whirled around.

"Fine. I hate myself. I hate that I'm alive he's not. He had a choice to make. He could have walked away. Instead he sacrificed himself to save me. And I hate him for it! Why would he choose me to live and not him?"

Much of this was new to Nora. Pyrrha had never revealed the specifics of what happened, and she and Ren had arrived only to find Pyrrha's unconscious body and Jaune's discarded weapon. It might have been new information, but the answer to Pyrrha's question was the easiest in the world.

"Because he loved you." Pyrrha's face crumpled and she began to cry. Nora took her into her arms and wished she could make it all better. That wish was beyond the ken of even the strongest huntress though; she could only hope to help.

Pyrrha cried in a way that Nora was sure she hadn't in a long time. Pure emotion flooded out of her. Eventually Pyrrha sagged and it was only Nora's strength that kept her upright. She would have liked to say it would get easier, but it would have been a lie. It never got any easier, because nothing would ever bring the lost back.

"I'm sorry about Ren," Pyrrha whispered. Nora almost sighed. Everyone believed they were a  _thing_. They weren't. Not really. They were just extremely close. After a few drinks perhaps she thought about being more, but she was happy with how things were between them. "He's not angry?"

"Of course not. He's just worried about you. We both are." Gently Nora began to retrace her steps, drawing Pyrrha along with her. As she'd predicted Ren brushed off Pyrrha's attempted apology and helped her into the tent to get changed properly.

Nora gave him a quick rundown of what had happened before Pyrrha emerged in her armour, appearing just like the photo that had been on so many walls.  _The Invincible Girl._  Only she wasn't anymore.

She tried to smile for them, but it was so strained it was almost a grimace. "What happened yesterday? How did I end up…" she gestured into the tent.

It wasn't surprising she couldn't remember. "You collapsed," Nora said, noticing how Pyrrha's eyebrows raised. "Your heart stopped. You almost died."

"Oh…" Nora had expected shock, horror, something more than a brief exclamation. "It's getting worse then," Pyrrha muttered to herself.

That was not the reaction Nora had expected. "What's getting worse?"

Pyrrha looked her in the eyes. "I'm dying."

Nora's stomach dropped out from beneath her. "Wh… What?"

"It's okay," Pyrrha said consolingly. "I've come to terms with it.

She might have, Nora hadn't. "No!" she shouted stamping her foot. She wasn't going to lose someone else. Not again. Not when all their hearts hadn't even started to heal from the last tragedy.

A rare smile lit up Pyrrha's face at Nora's petulance. For a moment they could have been back in their room at Beacon, arguing at any number of entirely inconsequential things. For a moment… before the weight of the world came crashing back. "You can't stop it."

"Stop what?"

"I've been poisoned." It seemed so easy for her to say those words.

"Poisoned? How? When?" The questions flooded from Nora.

Pyrrha seemed to think for a few seconds. "Honestly I'm not sure when it happened, or even the how. It was Enerdyne though. At some point they gave me something. It's been getting worse in the last couple of weeks."

_Enerdyne?_  They'd poisoned her, and why hadn't she mentioned anything before? "Have you seen a doctor?"

Pyrrha shook her head.

"Why not!" A bird took off in fright from a nearby tree.

"There's no point. They would tell me exactly what Enerdyne told them to. They're all in their pocket."

"They can't all be." In Nora's honest opinion Pyrrha tended to exaggerate just how long Enerdyne's reach was. "We can take you to see our regimental physician. He's a good man. He'll help you."

"It won't matter," Pyrrha said tiredly. "Enerdyne are a pharmaceutical company. They've probably infected me with something experimental. Something no one would have seen before. All the searches for my symptoms come up blank."

"What symptoms?" Nora demanded, determined to get to the bottom of whatever was plaguing her friend.

"Mainly headaches, migraines really. Bad ones, really bad. The one yesterday was the worst though." Pyrrha started ticking her maladies off on her fingers. "Blinding flashes behind my eyes, bouts of dizziness, nausea, cramps. Sometimes in the morning I can't move at all. Almost as if someone's lying on top of me. High blood pressure. It feels like my veins are about to burst. As if there's too much of it inside of me." She noticed Nora's aghast expression. "It's ok Nora. You see I'm beyond help. But I have a little time left. Time enough to finish this."

"It's not ok! You can't just give up."

"I'm haven't, but you've got to be realistic. You saved my life last night. Next time you might not be able to. I don't want you to blame yourselves."

"Pyrrha…" Nora's face fell and Ren put an arm around her shoulders.

"It's for the best. I never planned to make it through this. I've done too much. I have a price on my head. This way I get to see Jaune again…" she trailed off her eyes glowing as she stared into the distance, reliving happier times.

"You're in pain now aren't you?" Ren asked.

Pyrrha breathed in deeply and nodded. Now that Nora knew to look for it she could see the tightness in Pyrrha's expression. "Yes, it feels like my brain is about twice the size it should be."

As Nora wanted to make it better, Ren was trying just that. He rummaged in pack withdrawing a medical kit. "This will help with the pain," he said holding up a syringe. "If you want?"

Pyrrha considered it before nodding. Ren's hands were steady as he injected her. "It should only take a few minutes."

"Thank you." Now that they knew Pyrrha was free to massage her skull.

She looked so forlorn standing in the snow, her face screwed up. So unlike the figure that had at one time greeted so many at their breakfast table. Pyrrha wasn't a marketing icon any more. She was just a girl. One who was Nora's friend. And yet another person in her short life who was slipping away from her. After so much loss her soul should have been numb to it, but the truth was it could never be numb. For the soul was made up of love… and loss. They were entirely indistinguishable.

Ren promise came true and while he was busy preparing breakfast, Nora felt some of the tension drain from Pyrrha's body as the drugs kicked in. "Better?" she asked softly. Pyrrha nodded. "Good."

They ate mostly in silence. They all had far too much to process. Ren occasionally raised a point about a treatment that might help. At Beacon he'd fallen into the role of team medic, his prior knowledge consigning him to it. For all his experience, Nora knew he didn't really know what to do. The poison coursing through Pyrrha's veins was just too unfamiliar.

After finishing eating, Pyrrha seemed to have made a decision. "We don't have any time left. We can't afford to wait around any longer. I was hoping it wasn't going to come to this, but we… I'm running out of time."

Nora had a dreadful realisation of what Pyrrha was suggesting. They'd been attempting to discover a covert way to penetrate the base. They hadn't found one and she very much doubted Pyrrha was suggesting giving up. "We can't it's too dangerous."

Pyrrha nodded looking at her. "You're right, we're not." Nora felt a brief surge of relief until Pyrrha opened her mouth again. "I am."

"That's insane! There's too many for the three of us handle. What are you going to do by yourself?"

"The thing I've been doing for months. It's too dangerous for you to come along."

"Too dangerous?" Nora asked incredulously. "What about for you?"

"I'll be fine. Just stay here. I'll come back when it's safe. You shouldn't have to get involved in this. I didn't want you to see it, but I don't have a choice. Ren," Pyrrha looked directly at him, "Keep her here."

Ren nodded.

_Ren nodded. Why was he taking her side?_  "Ren!" Nora jumped to her feet.

"We agreed to follow her orders Nora. You promised."

She had, but she hadn't meant it. "Not for something like this."

"For exactly this." Ren's voice was stern. " _'Even if it's to stay out of a fight.'_  Those were Pyrrha's exact words."

They had been. "But… but…"

Ren gestured at Pyrrha as she buckled on her weapons and spoke in a whisper. "Nora, answer me honestly. Does she look scared? Does she even look concerned? Because I don't think she does. I don't think we even know her anymore. She's grown so much stronger. You felt how easily she beat us when we found her. She wasn't even trying. If she says she can do this, I believe her. And I also believe that we won't want to be anywhere near her when she does."

His words almost made sense. Pyrrha had changed, but she couldn't just sit here as one of her friends went into a fight. Pyrrha must have sensed it in her.

"Wait here! I'll be fine." Trusting in Ren, she vanished into the trees.

Ren pulled Nora down next to him. His leg twitched with nerves against hers. Nora still wasn't sure they were doing the right thing. Surely no one, no matter how strong, would be able to fight off an entire compound by themselves?

Their resolve was tested when a few minutes later gunfire erupted from the direction of the base. They both jumped. Muted by the snow and the trees it wasn't even that loud. Just a gentle crackling. It was anything but gentle though.

Nora didn't know if it was good or not that it was panic fire. There were the reports of dozens of rounds every second. Rounds of different calibre as well. The rifles could have been popping corn, the mounted machines guns definitely weren't. The shouts and screams were worse than the shots. They were thin cries this far away, but they were ones clearly constructed from their originator's fear. Ren's leg began to twitch more significantly.

Their promise to not interfere lasted until an explosion shook flurries of snow from the trees and rocked the ground beneath them. They met each other's gaze and made a decision simultaneously. The thump of grenades had almost broken their will, this did. They left the clearing at a run.

Nora ploughed her way through the snow. Together they crested the hill concealing the military base from them and they both skidded to a stop. Nora's mouth fell open. She'd expected to see the signs of fight, but nothing in her mind could have prepared her for what was splayed out in front of her.

The gunfire had started only a few minutes ago and the impervious compound was a ruin. A thick black plume of smoke rose from a building where the occasional shell still exploded. The perimeter fences had been ripped up, some were dozens of feet away from where they'd been built. One of the towers had collapsed. Its metal framework twisted as if it had been crushed by the hand of a god.

Scores of soldiers were running back and forth, almost appearing like ants at this distance, some even abandoned their fortifications. Risking the death penalty to flee from the monsters in their base.

If it had come under a sustained Grimm attack, perhaps with a Goliath thrown in, Nora might have understood the devastation. Understood just how entire buildings had been demolished. This hadn't been the work of Grimm though. At least then there would have been bodies of the attackers.

Nora couldn't see any. But she could see the defenders'. She could see the defenders' by the dozen. They hadn't fallen individually as they would have in a sustained firefight; instead it appeared that entire squads had simply been cut down where they stood. It was too much. She sank down to her haunches just watching with horrified eyes. And it wasn't over yet.

A door in the cliffs opened and a quintet of Paladins emerged at a sprint. The soldiers scattered before them as they headed to an area hidden from Nora's sight, firing all the while. Missiles and high-calibre rounds surged to meet their target.

They didn't land. The Paladins had been out of sight for a few seconds when one retraced its path. Only it was no longer on the ground. It flew back perpendicular to it and crashed through a wall. The other Paladins went silent moments later.

A figure emerged at a run. A figure in bronze with red hair. It wasn't Pyrrha though. Nora simply wasn't able to reconcile her friend with whatever was doing this. Pyrrha wasn't able to throw mechs through the air no matter what her Semblance was. It was simply impossible. The figure down there didn't care.

The Paladin slid out from the rubble and its limbs were ripped off. They turned into projectiles which scythed through the soldiers whose nerves still held. The soldiers who'd been firing bursts towards the unconcerned figure.

It couldn't have been Pyrrha, she wasn't this strong. This ruthless. The main thing that had held Nora back from assaulting the base was how she could do it while still holding onto her hunter's vows. The figure had forsaken them entirely. There were three colours in the world. The white of the snow, the black of the cliffs, and the red of blood.

Despite how she wished it wasn't, Nora knew that it was Pyrrha who had done this. It would have been pleasant to say she'd only decimated the garrison, but that wouldn't have done the scene justice. Nora knew she'd agreed to this, practically made Pyrrha drag her along, but she hadn't imagined anything close to the devastation which could be caused by the strongest hunter she'd ever known fighting entirely unchained.

It was the most sickening thing she'd ever witnessed. It redefined the notion of power. As a huntress she was strong. She could probably take down a squad of normal soldiers, but a hunter couldn't do this. Pyrrha was simply something more. And it terrified her.

A pair of engines roared from overhead. Two Bullheads arrived, perhaps responding to an emergency call, and they immediately zeroed in on its target. Even then the figure didn't seem overly concerned by the weapons that could pierce through layers of composite armour. She zipped around, moving with inhuman speed, but didn't try and hide.

Her eyes flicked back to Pyrrha from the Bullheads just in time to see her jump. It wasn't a jump though. Rather than fall back to the ground after a few feet, Pyrrha flew. She shot straight upwards like one of mankind's failed rockets.

They must have still been a hundred feet or more in the air, but that didn't matter to Pyrrha. Halfway to the Bullheads she appeared to lose momentum before accelerating again. Their guns ceased as Pyrrha exited their cones of fire.

She came to a rest between the two gunships. Hovering high above the snow covered landscape. The wind whipping her hair out like a bloody banner. The Bullheads rolled. They began to drift closer towards Pyrrha, to each other. The pilots reacted, tilting their sticks, flaring their engines. It didn't seem to matter.

A rifleman appeared in the doorway of one for a moment, he even managed to get a few shots off at the wraith hanging in the air before he was thrown back. He tumbled from the opposite door, only his restraining cable saving his life. The gunships accelerated towards each other.

Pyrrha dropped out of their way the instant before they collided. Metal screamed. Engines erupted. And the entire conflagration plummeted to the floor. The two gunships appeared so much like a meteor as they left a tail of flames behind them and slammed into the ground. The impact tripped an avalanche on the slope to the side of the base.

The person responsible landed lightly on top of a tower. Visible for all those left alive to see. She stood tall and she stood strong. Whatever remaining will the soldiers had had as they waited for the backup evaporated. It hadn't even slowed her down. They threw down their weapon and ran for their lives.

Nora was relieved to see that Pyrrha let them go. Having witnessed all this she'd half expected the figure down there to slaughter them as well. They were once-proud soldiers who'd been reduced to nothing. Nora felt like that too. Judging by what she'd seen, Pyrrha could kill her in a few heartbeats if she wanted to. The belief in her own strength was nothing more than a fabrication.

"What is she?" Nora unconsciously voiced the question on her mind.

"I… I don't know." Ren shook his head. "Do you still want to do this? We could still leave."

Nora considered it. Actually considered it. Did she want to be a part of this? Of this unrestrained slaughter? They could leave. They'd be in trouble for abandoning their units when they were deploying, but any punishment wouldn't compare to getting caught up in this.

There was the ghost in the room though. Those tortured children. Did the ends justify the means? No one could answer that. No one had the right.

Jaune… his face floated in front of hers. His memory had been heavy on her shoulders over the last few days. He'd always said they had to stick together. As a team.

Nora nodded. Trying to seem more assured than she was. "We need to stop them." She took a step forward and Ren matched hers. He'd once promised he'd always be there for her. He hadn't let her down yet.

It got worse as they got closer. From their observation point they'd been able to see what was happening, but it had been far enough away that they'd been detached. As they neared acrid smoke washed over them, filling their lungs and stinging their eyes. It wasn't enough to mask the stench of blood though.

The coppery tang was unmistakable, and it was everywhere. The pair of them had to pick their way through a battlefield as gruesome as any they had seen before. The one saving grace was that there were no children, no civilians, but for all the good their guns had done the soldiers, they may well have been.

Pyrrha was waiting for them. Nora looked at her. Properly looked. Trying to find her friend in the monster who'd done all this. She wasn't sure if she found her. There was no trace on that gaunt face of horror, or even distress, just blank neutrality. It was almost as if Pyrrha was daring her to say something, she didn't.

"I told you to stay at the camp," it wasn't surprising how cold her voice was after seeing all this.

"We didn't interfere," Ren said. "But do we have time to be standing around like this? Shouldn't we get this over with?"

"Yes. If you desire follow me, or you can leave. No one will know you've been here. I hit the security system first."

The pair of them had made their decision earlier. It was almost a relief to get out of the bitterly cold air. The insides of the base followed the same guide to decoration that they military used, so much so it wasn't a far stretch of imagination to believe this had belonged to the Atlesian military before Enerdyne.

Pyrrha flung up an arm to halt them and peeked around a corner. "Wait here," she instructed as she rounded it. Someone shouted.

Nora couldn't just wait, she looked around too. Soldiers had set up a barricade at the end of the corridor. Whatever furniture they could find had been upended and weapons poked out from it, all pointed at the figure striding towards them.

They managed to get a single shot off before their weapons bucked in their hands and their defences shot across the floor. They began to scream and then they died. As quickly as that Pyrrha had killed ten or more people. Nora hadn't even seen what had, just a streak in the air that had bounced between them, dropping whoever it touched.

In some ways it was worse than what they'd witnessed before. Here she'd been close enough to hear their cries, hear the sound of bone shattering, of bodies thumping to the floor. To see just how little Pyrrha seemed to care, she hadn't even broken stride.

Pyrrha kept walking. She had to. To stop was to die. If she stopped she didn't know if she'd ever be able to find the will to go on. The reprieve given by Ren's drugs had lasted mere minutes before her headache had returned in full force. It wasn't really a headache though ̶ ̶ the word couldn't accurately surmise the pain she was in ̶ ̶ it felt like she was dying, and in reality she was.

For the past two weeks every day could have been her last. Her skull could have split at any moment. Her skin tingled all over, a great pressure beneath it. Her heart pounded in her chest. It hadn't been much of a surprise to learn it had given up; she'd been expecting it for a long time. Her life had become one of agony and that was discounting her emotional turmoil that trumped all.

It was only in the midst of combat, as she unleashed her rage on the world, did her pain lessen. While fighting Paladins, flying through the air, she almost felt glad to be alive. Almost. For a time she had flown free of the shackles of gravity. For a few glorious seconds she'd soared like a bird.

With the wind whipping her hair back she'd closed her eyes and just fantasised about not opening them. Not doing anything until it was over. It would be painless and easy. It had been so tempting, but she couldn't abandon her mission.

Sometimes her strength amazed even her. She'd never imagined she'd have been able to climb so high into the sky, or Pull two Bullheads down out of it. Two military gunships should have been beyond her capabilities, but every time she believed she reached her limits, she found they were but paper. She didn't even notice bullets striking her anymore.

A man emerged from a doorway with a pistol. A man died with a thought. That was all it took. She knew Nora and Ren would hate to see this, but she couldn't leave witnesses. Not if they were planning to return to their previous lives. Her Semblance quested out, burning through the wires of any cameras. No one would ever know that they were here. It would be her last gift to them.

Pyrrha didn't know where she was going. There weren't any convenient signs like the last base; instead she was just heading in the most likely direction, where the security was thickest. Her head pounded, but it wasn't the worst of her symptoms, not by a long shot.

The poison was in her brain. Whatever chemical cocktail Joseph had cooked up was causing her to hallucinate. The floating shadows were easy to deal with. The rest of her senses were not.

" _Pyrrha… Pyrrha… Pyrrha…"_  Jaune's incessant whisper drilled into her skull. " _Pyrrha… Pyrrha… Pyrrha…_ " Just over and over again. It was his voice ̶ ̶ a perfect recollection of the countless times he'd said her name before ̶ ̶ and it hurt all the more because of it.

Sometimes he'd say her name other times he'd try and give her instructions, " _Stop… Don't… Leave them_." It was just her subconscious, the part of her that had once been good, but by giving it his voice, she almost listened.

When waking up this morning, with a warm body beside her, she'd wanted it to be Jaune so much. He was in her dreams always, but today, he'd been outside of them as well. She'd been able to feel his strong, comforting hands roaming over her body, setting the flesh aflame wherever he touched. It hadn't been enough. She'd kissed him.

It was only when Ren had started did the illusion shatter. Her eyes had been half open. To them he'd been Jaune. It had been him who she'd been sleeping next to. Who she'd woken up with, ready to start the day anew. Only it hadn't. It had been yet another dream, even more real than before. And her heart, which must have been in a thousand pieces by now, broke again.

Pyrrha couldn't wait to die. To be with Jaune again, but first she had to stop his killers.

Her Semblance tore a door from its frame and her intuition had proven correct, beyond there were laboratories. She no longer doubted that Enerdyne were in league with the Atlesian military. This was unmistakably a military base, and was much larger than the last she'd attacked. Her only hope was that Penny and Joseph were both here.

"Is that?" Ren asked pointing at a row of cells.

Pyrrha nodded. She recognised this place from some of the videos too. Nora hadn't managed to watch more than a handful; Ren had forced himself to sit through them all as she had. There had been two distinct sets. The first three documented experiments had been carried out where she'd found them. The others had been conducted somewhere unknown, up until now. It was what they'd been expecting, but it was still a relief to have got it right.

The cells had been used to hold the test subjects. They'd been wired up to machines while almost every parameter of their bodies had been checked. Those who didn't make the grade were discarded.

The sterile corridors echoed with their footsteps. As was so often becoming the norm, it appeared the scientists had fled. It wasn't all that surprising. Her entrance had been less than covert. Even now they were probably retreating to a hidden hangar. Deep down Pyrrha knew she'd never catch up with Joseph or Penny before her life ended. They were always one step ahead of her.

Her only option was to try and stop the program that had created her. It was a crime. It had such potential. People with terminal illnesses could be saved, born again in a new body. But like all great innovations, it had been weaponised. Instead of life, it brought only death.

Pyrrha pushed open the door to the control room next to the main operating theatre. It was even more impressive in the flesh. There were banks upon banks of computers and monitors. Whiteboards covered in unintelligible formulas. In the centre of the room a hologram rotated.

It was of a person, though they weren't human. Their skin was transparent and showed all the components that formed an android. Unsurprisingly where its heart should have been there was nothing.

Pyrrha blocked out her hallucinations, instead concentrating on studying it. If fortune favoured her and she somehow made it to Penny, an understanding of her body could only be beneficial. It appeared that the new versions had upgrades.

There was nothing hovering over the other projector and when Pyrrha checked the theatre she saw the nearest bed was empty. Half the room was filled by the device that made the transfer possible, the Collodi Interface. A marvel of modern science, and an abomination.

She stumbled on the stairs into the operating theatre, pain stabbing into her temples. It was only her grip on the railing that kept her upright. She heard Nora and Ren rush to her, but they didn't say anything. That was good; she wasn't in the mood to talk.

Surrounding the empty bed were the instruments of torture. The ones necessary to ensure the subject fled their own body into the waiting one. All those who had been tied to that bed flashed through her mind, their screams echoing in her head. She did this for them.

Her fingers brushed the surface of the Collodi Interface. It was an enormous black box, stretching from floor to ceiling. Its surface was still warm. Pyrrha rounded it and caught her first sight of the android's external appearance. Her breath caught in her throat. Her heart stopped.

It had messy hair. Blonde hair. Her kneepads clattered as her legs gave way. Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. She crawled over to the bed as her teammates ran to her.

" _Pyrrha…_

It was him. His face. His body. Hesitantly, tentatively, she reached up to cup his cold flesh. Someone behind her swore. Pyrrha only knew her heart had started working again because of how painful it was.

Jaune was beautiful. He always had been. Ever since she'd first laid eyes on him. Even in his ridiculous onesie. He'd only become more so as she talked to him. Learned who he was, what he valued. His strength, his compassion, his empathy, his hope for the world. She loved him with her entire being.

"Why?" Nora asked behind her.

Pyrrha couldn't answer. Perhaps it had been for this reason. To almost entirely incapacitate her. They weren't content with just killing him; they had to sully his memory as well. Pyrrha gritted her teeth and prepared herself for what she knew she must do. It would be a perversion to destroy such a perfect resemblance, but she couldn't allow them to use  _Jaune_  to do their bidding.

Her Semblance quested out, latching onto metal sources, she prepared herself ̶ ̶

" _Don't!"_

Her entire body erupted into torment. Her limbs went limp. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, she could only hear.

" _Pyrrha… Pyrrha… Pyrrha… Pyrrha…"_

It was ceaseless. Over and over again. Unending . And frantic. There was no doubt in her mind that Jaune's voice now carried a demand of urgency, of the need for attention.  _Why though?_

"Pyrrha!"

She barely heard Nora's shout or her desperate touch. Pyrrha's attention was focused inwardly at the voice. Why was it so much clearer now? Her body was degrading, succumbing to the poison, but the intensity of the whispers had increased the closer she'd got to this room. When she'd seen the android. When she'd thought about destroying it.

The cry that had stopped her along with the pain. It had been as if her entire Aura had been thrown against her skin. As if she wasn't in control of it any longer. As if there was someone else.

" _Yes._ "

One word. One simple word. In answer to her thoughts. Her world tumbled down around her. Clarity took its place. She understood.

Her Aura was strong. Stronger than perhaps almost anyone's she'd ever heard of before. It was true that exercising increased the amount available, but not to that extent. Not to the extent that she could shrug off bullets without realising it. That she could drag gunships out of the air. It was almost as if…

As if she had the strength of two souls.

" _I'm here._ "

" _Jaune…_ " Pyrrha directed her prayer inwardly, and for the first time she actually listened to her hallucinations.

" _Pyrrha_."

Even internally she barely managed to choke the words out. " _I love you._ "

" _I know. We don't have much time."_ His voice was urgent. " _I've been killing you, but you haven't heard me. Your body can't sustain both of us. You need to use the Interface. It's our last chance."_

_What? What did he mean?_  The Interface. The android. The machine designed to be a receptacle for a soul. Jaune's soul. The one which was residing in her. It all clicked into place. Pyrrha stumbled upwards as if drunk, pushing Ren and Nora back.

"Help," she mumbled to them. Her body was lethargic.

"How?" Ren took her shoulder. She borrowed his strength to get to the other bed.

"Jaune's inside me… I don't know how… I need to use the machine… The android." Her head was splitting, her new awareness of what was inside of her only exacerbating her symptoms.

"What?" Nora asked as she rolled onto the bed.

"The Interface. Hook it to me. You saw how it works. You can transfer him. Save him…"

Her ramblings may have had the same plausibility as those of a madwoman, but to their credit Nora and Ren only exchanged one glance before they set to work. None of this made sense. Life hadn't made sense since the fall of Vale. What was a little more insanity?

Pyrrha was barely aware of the antiseptic gel being applied to her skin. It was on fire, and it was being encased in ice. At least they wouldn't have to torture her; it wasn't possible for anyone to sustain more pain than she was currently in.

In the control room Nora had found a checklist so they weren't entirely working from memory. They attached wires all over Pyrrha's body, pulling off her armour so they could get to her chest. The android was already connected.

"Are you sure?" Nora asked her.

Pyrrha nodded with gritted teeth.

The pair of them retreated to the control room. Pyrrha's body span above the projector, her vitals fluctuating wildly. Red warnings flashing. A program was already loaded on the main computer. The monitor displayed the message:  _Preliminary checks completed. Proceed with transfer?_

Ren's hand hovered over the keyboard, unwilling to cross the last few inches. Nora wove her fingers with his. Like always they were in this together. They pressed the button.

And Pyrrha screamed. Molten magma surged along every nerve in her body. Nora and Ren hadn't restrained her and her agony induced seizure almost ripped the wires from her body. Weights fell on top of her.

" _Whatever happens, don't blame yourself._ " A voice whispered in her mind. It was the last thing she heard before fleeing into the relief of unconsciousness.

On the other side of the room, the android opened its eyes.

 


	31. Chapter 31

"Just keep doing what you're doing," Winter said, trying her best to sound reassuring in the whisper quiet of the limo.

Ruby nodded. She appreciated the effort Winter was making. When you got to know her a bit, and she wasn't dealing with some crisis or another… and she didn't think you were a liability to her family's interests, she wasn't all that bad.

Of course Ruby wasn't entirely certain Winter had completely discounted that last part yet. Deep down Ruby knew that until Lord Schnee learned to accept hers and Weiss' relationship, it would always be a problem; one that in the grander scheme of things might be used to hurt them. It was undoubtedly why Winter's lips narrowed as Weiss reached over to rub Ruby's back.

"Of course she will. She's been doing great." No compliment, no matter how small, failed to lift Ruby when it came from her girlfriend. Weiss may not have wanted her attending the balls in the first place, but recently her mind had obviously changed. Weiss had fun with her there.

"Thanks," Ruby looked Weiss in the eyes as she smiled. She just loved the way it caused Weiss to light up. Despite all the cutting remarks she'd heard in her time in Atlesian high society, it was such a shame that the  _elite_  didn't get to the see the sides of the Schnee sisters she did. They were entirely different to their public perception.

"It seems to be working at any rate," Winter drew their attention back to her. Once again Ruby couldn't avoid the red-hot jealousy fluttering in her breast. Winter was perfect. Utterly perfect. She put movie stars to shame; for a teenager that was really saying something.

She and Weiss must have coordinated their attire. They were both wearing the same shade of incredibly pale blue ̶ ̶ one that was little more than a memory of glacial water flowing over fresh snow ̶ ̶ but that was where the similarities ended.

Weiss' dress went all the way up to her neck, a section of gauze suggested the hidden promise of her chest, her sleeves flared out slightly and cut off only just before her elbow length gloves. Complete with the skirt that descended all the way to her heels, she was dressed conservatively.

Winter was not. In all honesty her dress was more like one Yang would have picked, but ̶ ̶ ignoring any blind sisterly loyalty ̶ ̶ she could never have worn it that well. Winter's shoulders were entirely bared, the delicateness of her collarbone contradicting with the toned muscles of her arms. Her hair cascaded down her back like an alabaster waterfall. Ruby wasn't entirely,sure how, especially with how low the neckline plunged, the dress was defying gravity. Even sitting on the same level she was treated to a significant view of round and undoubtedly silky soft flesh.

It didn't help that Winter was cheating. Unless she'd been wearing a corset under her suit every time Ruby had seen her previously, Winter had a figure most would die for. With her dress taking an extra few inches from her waist her body was made up of curving lines that should have been impossible.

Winter may have been her girlfriend's sister, but when Winter had entered their limo, Ruby knew all the blood in her body rushed to her face. She wouldn't have been human if she hadn't considered it for a split second. Looking like that Winter would have turned her head even if she were straight.

Of course, taking the whole of them into account Weiss was still the more beautiful of the two to her; there was more to life than just physical appearances after all. Compared to them, her own appearance was plain, but she didn't mind being shown up. Everyone at the ball would be as well.

Ruby tried to focus in on whatever Winter had been saying while she'd been entranced by her appearance. Judging by the small smirk on her lips and the look she was receiving Winter knew exactly what had happened. It was probably why she was wearing the dress in the first place; it would likely prove very beneficial during any negotiations.

"…I've been told there's been a significant increase in the number of enquiries about purchasing land in the Turesan Quarter. It appears that Lunaria took Ruby's bait. The crash should happen just in time for us to sweep in."

Ruby tried to nod as if she understood what Winter was alluding to. Truthfully most of the things Winter explained to her flew straight over her head. She didn't get the minute intricacies that were the key deciders between a successful business venture and a disastrous one. It wasn't really necessary though, all she had to do was memorise whatever Winter told her to. It was almost like studying for an exam.

"You can't really expect it will affect them all that badly?" Weiss said.

"No. But it will push them off-balance as they restructure. Then we can go in for the kill." Winter smiled cruelly, she really did enjoy this. "Do you remember what you need to tell her today if she asks?"

"Yes. I've got it all down." For a moment Ruby thought Winter was going to test her, but then she obviously made the decision to trust her instead. It almost made her giddy. Ruby very much doubted it was trust that was easily gained.

Their driver turned off the main road and they were soon caught up in a queue of equally expensive vehicles. They were arriving fashionably late, but so was anyone else who decided to be fashionable. Consequently all that happened was that the majority of the evening's schedule would simply be pushed back ninety minutes or so. It was always amusing to Ruby to see such strange and pointless conventions practiced regularly.

Winter huffed at the delay, normally other people had to wait for her, but Ruby was pleased to have the opportunity to push her face up against the window. Out of all the balls she'd been to so far she was most excited and curious about tonight's, and all for one simple reason.

Wraith's family was hosting it. He must have been ridiculously busy helping get it ready because he hadn't even had time to reply to any of her messages. At any other time, for someone as socially awkward as her, it would have been enough to make her try and bury her head in the sand ̶ ̶ or snow in Atlas ̶ ̶ however having seen just how elaborate the balls were she'd decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

House Osier had definitely thrown out the red carpet. The problem was so did everyone else. In the end, despite the extravagance and obvious expense no particular ball stood out from the others. The only hope of the hosts was that theirs wasn't remembered for being worse than the norm.

Arriving after as the moon was smothered by foreboding storm clouds meant the grounds were mostly shrouded in darkness. Ruby wasn't too sure how far they extended. If they were a long way outside the city they often covered acres, nearer to civilisation they were less extensive. She guessed that these would be about halfway in between.

The house was impressive though ̶ ̶ not that she was entirely sure any of the nobles' dwellings should be called houses, more likely manors or villas ̶ ̶ it might not have been the largest she'd seen, but it was the brightest.

The cascading water feature at the centre of the curved driveway glowed bright, a beacon against the darkness. Its hues shifted, matching the lights in all the forward facing windows. Blues, greens, and brown subtly blended into each other. Ruby wasn't sure, but she would have guessed they were the main colours in the Osier's sigil.

"It's pretty isn't it?" Weiss slid over to join her.

"Yeah."

"You seem rather more interested than you did last time. Any particular reason?" Weiss asked nonchalantly.

"No." Ruby did her best not to appear flustered. She'd entirely forgotten to mention Wraith to either of them. The only consolation for her lapse was that it didn't matter; he wasn't involved in the plot. She'd stake her life on it. It would be far too complicated to explain in the little time they had left. "It just caught my eye."

"I can see why. What do you think Winter?"

"It's rather garish really. All those lights. It's just trying to show off without understanding the concept of style." The stark appraisal of such an influential member of Atlesian high society caused a moment of worry in Ruby's chest for Wraith. These balls were so important for a family's standing; it could take months or longer to recover from a poor one.

They stopped for a final time and their door opened. Despite how she'd done this before Ruby was still filled with breathless excitement as she emerged. She hadn't quite mastered the art of exiting a vehicle gracefully in a full-length gown. Weiss and Winter managed it with considerably more class. The doorman bowed especially deep to them, until he was past horizontal. They didn't deign to notice, instead striding off perfectly in sync.

Ruby followed slightly behind them. In an ideal world she would have preferred to make this walk on Weiss' arm like the couples all around. It wasn't an ideal world though, and for the time being she stayed a few steps in their wake. She was determined it wasn't going to be for much longer though. As soon as this plot was thwarted she would tell Weiss about her feelings and together they could confront her father.

The three of them were unusual in that they didn't have dates; almost everyone else in sight did. She and Weiss didn't for obvious reasons. Ruby was sure she would have caught aflame with jealousy if someone else had held Weiss' arm with her looking as good as she did.

Winter could have though. Undoubtedly she could have had her pick of anyone here. With just a snap of her fingers there would be suitors begging for her attention. It would have been the case even if she wasn't a Schnee, as one she was even more of a perfect match. It was because she was a Schnee she didn't have to though. They were right at the top of the pile. Winter didn't have to use her favour as a boon to secure alliances; few would refuse her if she offered the option regardless.

Ruby had attended with Weiss before, but never with Winter as well. The respect for two of the most powerful people in the country was even more pronounced. Lords and ladies bowed and curtseyed to the two teenagers. With Lord Schnee still deeming balls below his notice, they were the links all sought, but few were brave enough to make the first move before discovering the Schnees' mood.

The entry hall had an ornate marble staircase that curved up either side of two great doors. The ripple of respect propagated as Winter and Weiss continued to stride forward. There were few who didn't bow. Only those with the absolute largest houses at their back could risk the slight. It was strange for Ruby; it almost felt as if they were bowing to her. She supposed at one point they might be. If she ended up marrying Weiss that would make her a Lady right? She wasn't too sure how that worked, but that was a problem for another day.

There were servants moving around with glasses of sparkling wine and ornate appetisers on silver trays. It was with some surprise that Ruby noticed a tail protruding from under one of their waistcoats. Her opinion of the Osiers rose. It wasn't unheard of for a family to have Faunus servants, but it wasn't exactly common either.

That particular servant's bow was cut short and he shot the Schnee sisters a heated gaze before managing to affix a neutrally efficient smile on his face. That hurt Ruby. More than ever she knew the way the Schnees treated Faunus was not the fault of either Winter or Weiss. It was entirely their father's decree, but they all shared the blame. If it were solely up to Weiss, Ruby was entirely certain she would close all the mines and treat the Faunus like actual people. Not animals. Others just couldn't understand that Weiss wasn't at all like her father.

Compared to the other ballrooms Ruby had seen, the Osier's was… cosy. That was probably the politest way of putting it. Not that it wasn't large, it was, just not as large as some of the grand halls that were capable of sitting hundreds. The Osier's ballroom was just that. A room meant for dancing. Its glittering stone floor stretched from wall to wall and there was a raised balcony for a small number of instrumentalists to play.

If people wanted to observe the dancing here, they had to get involved. If they desired a break from the music, tables were set up in adjoining rooms. When Ruby stopped and thought about it, she might actually prefer this layout to just one large hall where it was close to impossible to get away from anyone.

This early in the evening there were only a few eager couples taking advantage of the empty dance floor and Weiss and Winter barely broke stride as they crossed the room. Following, Ruby doubted they would have had to even if the room were full to bursting. A corridor just seemed to open up in front of them.

All three of them exchanged pleasantries with a few of the guests. Of course the people who the Schnees spoke to were a lot higher ranking than any one of her friends. It did come as quite a shock that she would count some among the nobles as friends. There were always likely to be some who were faking, but others did have what seemed to be genuine smiles on their faces when they greeted her and gestured her over.

Ruby shook her head to turn them down. She enjoyed her meals with Weiss far too much to sacrifice one. They reached the table set for two and Winter almost caused a waiting servant to have a heart attack by indicating that another chair would be needed. Ruby had to hide her grin behind her hand at what followed. After a flustered conversation a horde of servants descended on them, stealing plates and cutlery from a nearby table, and setting Winter's place in a few moments, all while trying to appear refined even while carrying a heavy chair across the room.

"Will you be joining us Winter?" Weiss asked pleasantly as they waited for the table to be rearranged.

"If it's not too much trouble?" If Ruby guessed correctly Winter was enjoying seeing the panic she'd inspired by her request. "I have a little time spare time, and anyway, it pays to make people wait."

"Indeed," Weiss sat in sync with Winter. "I take you're closing L380."

"Unless they've run into complications on their end again. Their lawyers must be charging by the minute. You should see what alterations they made last time."

As much as Ruby enjoyed the idea of Weiss and Winter spending time together, she just wished it was in a way she could contribute to. So often they started conversing about business arrangements and all she was left to do was to push food around her plate. It had even crossed her mind to enrol in an online business course just so she could perhaps understand what some of the acronyms meant.

After about ten minutes Weiss realised they'd been excluding her girlfriend. She gave Winter an apologetic smile and flicked her eyes across to where Ruby was staring unseeingly out of the darkened window.

Winter understood. "Ruby," Ruby started when she heard her name, "How is your dog?" It was a weak start to a conversation, but Ruby gladly took it.

"He's been great actually. He's really enjoying being able to run around outside after being stuck in a cage for so long. I've been taking him to the park every day. You know the one near the hotel?" Winter nodded sipping her drink. "He didn't get enough exercise in quarantine. I'm having to work him really hard, he's already a little too round. He's not that all that pleased about his diet either. I swear he keeps trying to get to the can opener. I'm sure he'd love to meet you if you want to help out."

It was only by spending so long studying the reactions of nobles that Ruby saw the slightest scrunch of Winter's nose, and even then she nearly missed it. "I'm not sure when I'll be able to find the time. Though the offer is very kind." The refusal was tactfully done, but Ruby still felt her cheeks heat. Weiss had once told her that Winter hadn't wanted a pet growing up.

Weiss came to her rescue. "He has been doing really well. Ruby took him to the Corspleian Gardens the other day. She sent me a lot of photos." Weiss smiled as she remembered the images that had allowed her to survive another boring meeting that had just dragged on. Zwei and sunglasses just worked.

"Yeah they were pretty interesting. Actually…" Ruby started to realise why Weiss have mentioned the gardens in particular. "Didn't you have something to do with them Winter?"

"I approved the plans and opened them. Which season did you like best?"

The gardens had been split into four, underground heaters and glass roofs ensuring that the gardens meant to represent the other seasons weren't blanketed by snow from Atlas' seemingly perpetual one. All four quarters had been beautiful, full of colour, even  _winter_ , but there was one which had stood out to Ruby.  _Spring_  had appeared so much like their home on Patch she and Zwei had been lost in reminiscence for a moment.

"Spring without a doubt. Not that they all weren't incredible," she added hurriedly.

With that fresh topic of conversation Winter was able to tell her all about the process behind such an art project. It was actually engrossing and Ruby was incredibly grateful towards Weiss for making it possible. By the end of the meal she felt just a little closer to Winter.

Winter dabbed at her mouth with an embroidered napkin, not that she'd made a mess. "As much as I would have enjoyed continuing this all night, I have to go and corner some people without their lawyers present." Ruby doubted it would be as pleasant for them as Winter made it sound. "Depending on our schedules perhaps we could meet for a meal again soon? If all goes well tonight I'll be in Pleiades for the next couple of days, but I'll be back in Atlas towards the end of the week."

"I'd like that. Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah. That would be great." It would have been almost unthinkable a few months ago that Winter would be initiating spending time with them, with her in particular. She'd just changed so much since their initial meeting.

"I'll see what can be arranged then," Winter made her goodbyes and disappeared into the crowd.

"That was fun," Ruby shifted her chair a little closer to Weiss. More than ever she just wanted to say 'Screw it,' to society's expectations.

"It was," Weiss' lips were drawn back in a broad smile. "It's because of you, you know? Before I met you I barely exchanged a word a month with Winter."

Ruby blushed. It hadn't all been her. An awful lot had happened to make everyone reassess just what was actually important in life, but she'd definitely helped get them started. With Weiss' relationship with her sister flourishing, the next obvious target was the one she had with her father. "It was clear you two cared for each other, you just had to admit it."

"Well we did because of you. I can't ever thank you enough for that."

"You don't have to. It's what friends do for each other."

"Nevertheless I feel obliged to. So thank you." Weiss extracted her phone from her clutch bag and checked the time. She grimaced. "As much as I hate to do this, I have someone I need to find as well. Are you going to be ok by yourself?"

"Of course." Ruby grinned at Weiss' worry. It wasn't like she hadn't done this before. Sure she would have preferred to have stayed with Weiss, but they would have had to part eventually anyway.

They went their separate ways and Ruby wandered into one of the adjoining rooms searching for anyone she knew. It didn't take her long to find and mingle with a familiar group. The group might have been familiar, but the conversation was not. In fact the entire atmosphere was different to the balls before; there was only one topic on people's tongues.

The invasion of Vale. It made her queasy just hearing the excitement in their voices. People who she knew were kind and caring were speaking about 'sticking it to the animals'. It was understandable that they were angry about Tintagel Castle; she was angry as well. Vale was her home. She wanted justice to be brought to the White Fang as much as anyone, but war was never the answer. It would only bring more misery in its wake.

It really didn't help that knowing what would be happening in the city only exacerbated her worry for Yang, Blake, and the rest of her friends who were there. There had been no news of them at all. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad. She hoped good.

That was what all those around her didn't seem to understand. There was a very real cost to warfare. Chatting in their expensive clothes and sipping wine they just couldn't even imagine what it was like. It was likely that most hadn't even seen a Grimm in the flesh, and almost certainly hadn't wielded a weapon when theirs and other's lives depended on it. If they had, they wouldn't be able to laugh so loudly.

Ruby withdrew silently in the midst of another round of boasting. She'd intended to find someone else, but in whatever room her feet took her the conversation was the same. It was a while before she realised that her perambulation of the rooms was really just an excuse to bump into Wraith. The one person who wouldn't be taking the concept of war so jovially.

He wasn't around though. Ruby wasn't exactly sure what was required of the hosts of the ball once it was in motion, but she supposed it must have been keeping him extremely busy. It was only after accepting an invitation to dance and leaving her suitor to use the restroom, did she spot him.

"Wraith," she called, waving in a way that most likely broke over a dozen unwritten rules.

He'd been shaking an older man's hand when he heard her cry. His head snapped around and they locked eyes across the crowded room. Ruby's smile faltered. There was nothing welcoming in his gaze. Nothing which said 'Hi Ruby, I'd love to talk.' Instead it was almost hostile. Wraith spoke to the man again before quickly disappearing from sight, leaving Ruby standing forlornly and alone in the middle of the room.

The skin around her eyes tightened. He had been avoiding her in the week; it hadn't just been her imagination. She didn't know what she'd done wrong. She hadn't said anything… had she? Something that meant he'd never want to talk with her again, that he'd have been embarrassed just to be around her. What had she done?

Along with Weiss, and now Winter, he was her best friend here.  _Was_  being the crucial part of that thought. Maybe he just hadn't wanted to associate with someone as uncultured as her anymore. There were plenty of people cleverer and funnier than her around. He was older as well. It wasn't surprising he'd stopped humouring her. He'd probably never liked her anyway; he'd just been being kind to a loner and a freak.

It was a close run thing, but Ruby managed to seal herself in a bathroom before letting her tears fall.

* * *

 

Weiss waved away the offer of a fresh glass of wine. The Faunus servant retreated with lowered eyes. Weiss drained the last dregs in her crystal flute, the few drops failing to relieve the irritation of her parched throat. It wasn't because the servant was a Faunus, it was just… it wasn't worth the risk.

As a Schnee she had to be careful. She always had, but now it was more important than ever. There were so many people who would like to do her harm. In the current climate she had to keep her wits about her.

After giving her a quick once over she exchanged her glass with the next servant who came nearby. It wasn't that there wasn't a danger from humans as well, there was just a lower probability. It was why she hadn't been enamoured by the Osier's decision to hire Faunus servants in the fifteen months or so since the last ball they hosted.

She was all for giving the Faunus an opportunity to better themselves. They made good workers, servants, and ̶ ̶ if one was willing to look past her family name ̶ ̶ friends. Most were just normal people after all. The problem was that none of them were living in normal times. Atlas was at war. She was at war. And no one ever had to wonder if the human who'd just handed them a glass was a covert member of the White Fang.

Certainly her father would never have allowed a Faunus to serve him. Admittedly that wasn't saying much. When she was growing up he'd never hired Faunus maids or groundskeepers, even before the Faunus had resorted to terrorism. Currently his policy was for the SDC to hire just enough across the scope of the business in reasonable positions that they could be displayed to the media if anyone ever called their recruitment process into disrepute. It was a smart policy for PR purposes; he just made sure they were positions he never had to interact with.

It was a policy followed by most companies in the world. Employ the majority of the Faunus workforce in positions where they excelled, and ensure there were a few high flyers among their numbers. She'd noticed the odd uncomfortable glance towards the Faunus servants from the other guests as well.

This particular ball was proving particularly trying for her. In her opinion war was not an enjoyable topic of conversation. She spent half her days dealing with the consequences, analysing photos of White Fang atrocities that would make most in here throw up.

It might have been trying for her patience, but she was glad the mobilisation of Atlas' forces was finally more than a distant dream. It was ironic that what the White Fang believed would have been a resounding blow against Atlas ̶ ̶ the bombing of Tintagel Castle and the murder of the Council, had in fact proved their undoing.

As callous as it was to say it, Weiss was actually glad the attack had taken place. The deaths of innocents were regretful, but their sacrifices would ultimately prove the White Fang's downfall. The SDC forces under her command had been preparing for the invasion of Vale, but they were still months from being ready. Months where the White Fang would only have strengthened and killed countless more.

It was better this way. Though under her direction ADRG had proved a vicious thorn in the animals' sides, they simply didn't have the numbers to hold the territory they cleansed. The military did. ADRG had been instrumental in establishing a forward operating base and thousands of soldiers had been deployed.

She'd watched them depart. The full military might of Atlas was truly a terrifying thing. There had been enough airships in the sky that they did their best to blot out the sun. The Dreadnoughts ̶ ̶ including the new flagship  _The Xanthos_  ̶ ̶ were huge, but even they were dwarfed by the troop transports. Heavy and lumbering they were actually based on the same design as the SDC ships that had carried the refugees from Vale.

Each carried thousands of heavily armed troops and were flanked by frigates and dozens of smaller craft which appeared like gnats. She'd stood next to Ozpin, her father, and Winter as they first Bullhead had taken off. The thrumming of engines hadn't disappeared for hours.

Ozpin had been the driving force behind the deployment. While with the murder of the Council authority over the city of Atlas and the surrounding territories had fallen to her father, Ozpin had manoeuvred himself to the top of the military.

In all honesty Weiss wasn't entirely sure how he'd managed it. Her father had long-standing legislation to support his claim. Ozpin didn't. He wasn't even a national, and yet General Calder answered to him. Though curious Weiss was hesitant to dig too much further; Ozpin had thrown his considerable weight behind her family's cause. It wouldn't do to discover something that unsettled his position.

It was likely why the White Fang had sought to assassinate him. Though it ultimately wouldn't have changed the country's course, it would have bought them more time. It was a plot that had been utterly dismantled. Her forces had hit another half dozen White Fang cells before recovering the anti-material rifle. It had given her great pride to announce to her father that the White Fang threat within their country had been neutralised.

With the full might of Atlas on the warpath it was only a matter of time before Vale was liberated. After that there would only be the long and tedious process of rooting out White Fang members and their sympathisers hiding among the general populace. That was not a battle she was looking forward to, but after that the world would finally be free of their terror and could begin to rebuild. It was a future worth fighting for.

Not that anyone here would actually fight for it. They just expected it to happen. It was what the result when someone was born to money and never had to work for anything in their spoiled lives. Though some might have believed that of her, it wasn't the case. Everything that was hers was something she'd had to battle tooth and nail for.

It had made her stronger, much stronger than any of the other girls in her group. They didn't realise just how easy they had it. Their biggest concerns consisted of what dresses to wear and how to style their hair. If it were up to her she'd simply ignore them. Unfortunately that wasn't an option.

"That's incredible," Weiss exclaimed with what she knew was perfectly feigned enthusiasm. "I can't believe you managed to get him to do your hair."

"I know right?" Blossom was pleased with what she saw as her social coup. She leant a little closer to Weiss until it was possible to smell the alcohol on her breath. Blossom never quite managed to remember where her limits were. She was clearly tipsy. "I could put in a word for you."

Weiss resisted the very strong temptation to deliver a caustic remark. All it would have taken was a snap of her fingers to get the same stylist to do her hair every day of the week. In his underwear if she so desired. Instead of giving in to her more satisfactory imagination, she replied in the way that was socially acceptable. "If you could, I would be ever so grateful," she said breathless.

Blossom appeared giddy. She should know better by now. Weiss hadn't meant a word of it. That was the reason she's always hated these balls. She lied almost every time she opened her mouth and so did everyone else. They were entirely composed of deception.

Weiss decided to leave Blossom to it. She didn't even know how the airheaded gossip had managed to trap her in a corner. She'd just found herself and Blossom alone. It wasn't beneficial to spend all that time in her company ̶ ̶ not to mention bearable ̶ ̶ though gossip was useful, Blossom's family was a minor one.

It only took a few moments to find a more rewarding group in an adjoining room. Before Beacon it might have been one which was too intimidating for her. Though few actually liked the Schnees most at least feigned to be their allies, some did not. Mainly those with close links to the other Great Houses.

There were some in the group who had previously made her feel inadequate, made cutting comments about her appearance, or asked about what business ventures she was controlling when they knew her father hadn't entrusted her with any.

They didn't bother her now though. All that mattered to her was that Ruby found her attractive, and with the power she now wielded within Atlas and beyond, there wasn't anything they could do to her.

The circle split apart to allow her participation and those on either side immediately vied for her attention. Though an ally to one of the Great Houses was an attractive proposition to try and get in the good graces of the Schnee heiress trumped them significantly. Weiss flashed a smile at those who had tormented her as she stole their limelight. She had to admit it did feel good.

Weiss conducted her sycophants with practiced ease. All her lessons from her social etiquette tutors allowed her to deduce just what each of them wanted. She played them all off against each other without really seeming to, until they had to resort to boasting to get ahead. It was kind of fun to make them dance for her attention.

Whilst nodding encouragingly she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Dalia ̶ ̶ once upon a time one of her chief tormentors ̶ ̶ was playing with her cleavage, undoubtedly trying to display it more prominently. It wouldn't matter, she should just admit when she'd lost the group and move on.

Weiss turned her attention away only for Dalia to draw it back. "I'm so jealous Weiss," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "You're always so far ahead when it comes to fashion. What do you think of my necklace?"

Weiss gave Dalia's cleavage a brief glance. Her body froze. Her mind seized up. The necklace resting in Dalia's bosom was a cheap mass-produced one, entirely out of place surrounded by jewels. It was identical to the one resting above Weiss' heart.

"I love this necklace. It's simply to kill for, don't you think?" Dalia twisted a knife in Weiss' chest.

Weiss couldn't breathe. Her lungs had stopped working. Half the girls in the group were wearing the same necklace and all staring at her.

They knew…

Knew about her greatest crime. The  _mercy_  that still haunted her nights. About Amber…

They knew…

She hadn't told anyone except Ruby. Anyone… and they knew…

Knew she'd murdered a defenceless and innocent girl. The sweetest girl in the world. Her friend…

Their cruel gazes bored into her. She couldn't… She just couldn't. She had to get away. Away from them. From anyone. From everyone.

Weiss fled the room to the sound of their laughter.

* * *

 

Ruby wasn't having fun anymore. She wanted to leave. To go home. The magical experience that the ball had started as had soured entirely.

She just didn't know why Wraith hated her. It must have been something she'd done. Something she'd said. Perhaps it was all the text messages he'd ignored; he'd finally seen how annoying she was. She wanted to hit herself. Why didn't she just stop after he hadn't replied to a couple? That was what any normal person would have done. Instead she must have sent two dozen before getting the message that he didn't want to talk to her.

It was obvious this had been coming, but no she'd been too stupid to see it. Instead she worked herself up into a state at the prospect of him giving her a tour around his family's home. Thinking he still wanted to be her friend. The squirming embarrassment made her want to curl up and hide.

Ruby breathed in deeply as tears threatened to well up again. At least she hadn't ruined her make-up overly much. Her attempt to lift her mood failed. She'd locked herself in a bathroom for long enough that a servant had politely rapped on the door and asked if she needed assistance. She had, just none in the form the servant could provide.

She needed Weiss. Weiss would cheer hep up. Just the sight of her was usually enough to lift her heart, but Ruby sincerely doubted even that would be enough. She'd really believed she'd made a good friend in Wraith, but she'd just been lying to herself.

Ruby could feel herself regressing in her recovery. Since starting counselling she always tried to maintain a positive outlook. No matter how bad the situation, she had to find at least three good things about it. This had none.

It was even beyond her to try and find Lunaria. Right at this moment Ruby knew she would have been unable to sustain even the smallest barbs without crumbling. A short conversation with that bully would likely have sent her over the edge.

Thankfully she hadn't seen her since a brief glimpse at the start of the evening. She was probably busy, just like Weiss was. Ruby had risked repeated embarrassment to try and locate her or Winter by circling through all the different rooms, but both were likely sequestered away somewhere. Ruby was very close to trying to get a taxi to come all the way out here even if she didn't have any money to pay for it; such was her desire to leave.

It was desire that she envied several others had the chance to make real. It might have been early in comparison to the rest of the balls, but cars were already being brought up from the motor pool where the drivers were parked. For a moment Ruby had been concerned that it was a calculated slight meant to the insult the hosts, but then she realised Wraith's family didn't matter to her anymore. He didn't want her in his life.

She remained sitting in her corner, the dark mood surrounding her keeping everyone away. Even the servants. It was getting more and more difficult to catch their attention so they could supply her with a fresh glass of wine. She still hated the taste. The way it fizzed, the way it clung to the back of her throat, every sip nearly made her gag. She wasn't quite sure when it was meant to be pleasant, but it did contain alcohol which was all that mattered. Her spinning head distracted her somewhat from her mortification.

A hand clamped down on her forearm. "Ruby!"

Ruby looked up from where she'd almost fallen asleep, the bright chandeliers stinging her eyes. She'd never had much of a head for alcohol, or the exposure to it. The blur resolved into a recognisable one. "Wraith?" Her voice was thick with puzzlement and inebriation.

"Gods, how much have you had to drink?" he said taking in the empty glasses scattered over the table.

Ruby tittered. "One… two… three…" she pointed to each glass as she counted in a childish voice. Wraith stopped her before she finished. He'd lost his relaxed air. He almost appeared apprehensive.

"You're completely wasted."

"Nuh-uh…" she hiccupped, "You're wasted." Wraith glanced around again as she started giggling at just how clever her retort was.

"I don't have time for this," he growled through gritted teeth.

"Then just go!" Her raised voice caused some of the other guests to look over at the pair of them. "You don't like me anyway…" Her face screwed up as she remembered why she was attempting to drown her sorrows.

"Look it's complicated."

"No it's not. You hate me." She very nearly started crying again.

"I don't hate you. I like you. It's just…" he was flustered both by the topic and her behaviour. "Like I said, it's complicated. I don't have time for this now. Get up." He tried to pull her from her seat, but she resisted.

"No! Not until you tell me." She pulled her arm away from his and crossed them resolutely. The intended effect somewhat ruined by how she missed the crook of her opposite elbow the first time.

"Ruby there isn't time," he glanced over his shoulder again. "We need to go."

"I'm not moving." She didn't care if she was making a scene.

"Fine, Weiss ordered me not to talk to you. Happy?" he snapped.

"Weiss…"she mewled unable to understand. "Why?"  _Why wouldn't Weiss want her to have friends?_

"I don't know. She was just very insistent on it. I'll explain later. Look I told you, can you get up now?"

As much as the news that it had been Weiss was racing around her brain, she had promised him. Ruby tried to put her weight on her feet and promptly found herself on the floor, half the glasses on the table shattering around her after she'd tried to stop her fall by grabbing the tablecloth.

Ruby rebounded from melancholy to hysterics. To her the situation was immensely funny. "Stupid lady stilts." She'd become quite adept at walking in them, but they were still ridiculous inventions.

"You can't even walk," Wraith said angrily. It was just one thing on top of everything else.

"No…" she hiccupped again. That combined with the laughter leaving her short of breath. "I can." She almost tried to prove it but then thought better of it. "Just…" She hitched up her gown and tried to unbuckle her heels with fingers that didn't seem to work properly.

Wraith ended up helping her. "Thank youuu," she sang, taking them in one hand and his in the other.

"Can we get going now?"

"Yep," Ruby answered. She had to lean into his shoulder to stay upright. For some reason his family had decided to build floors which swayed under her bare feet.

"Fuck… fuck… fuck," Wraith muttered under his breath as he caught sight of a clock face. "How did you get here?"

"Broooom, broooom." Ruby started giggling again at her own impression of a car.

Wraith couldn't have found it any less amusing. "Why on Remnant did you drink so much?" he flung at her under his breath.

"You were mean…"

Wraith decided to ignore her as they left the entrance hall through a side corridor closed to the public. "Did you come with Weiss?"

"Yep."

"Crap," he thought for a moment. "Can you drive? It doesn't matter, not when you're like this. Fuck, I'll have to take you. Come on."

"We're leaving?" Ruby's alcohol clouded mind managed to connect the dots. "What about Weiss?" They couldn't leave without her. It would make her sad.

"Weiss doesn't matter. You're in danger if you stay here." He glanced at his watch again and increased their pace, taking more of Ruby's weight off her stumbling feet.

"Weiss matters… Wait, danger?" The implications behind the word sobered her slightly.

"You need to get out of Atlas. Do you have anyone you can call?"

_Out of Atlas?_   _But Weiss lived here…_

"What danger?" she tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her.

He unlocked the door to a large garage and rows upon rows of lights came on. There must have been at least two dozen vehicles sitting here.

"My parents have done something very, very stupid. It's not going to be safe for you here anymore." He tried to push her down into a passenger seat, but Ruby put her hands out. His behaviour and words had finally cleared a portion of her mind.

"Stop," she commanded her voice clear of most of the signs of inebriation. "What's going on? What have they done?"

"There's no time."

"Make time!" she snapped at him.

"They're playing the game," he said bitterly as if it should explain everything.

Ruby paused and thought over what he'd told her. He wanted her to get her out. Out of the house, even the country, but not Weiss. Why wouldn't Atlas be safe for her? It didn't make sense… not unless. The ramifications of his warning hit her like a truck.

The heart-twisting fear would likely have succeeded in draining the majority of the alcohol from her mind, but her Aura kicked into terror-induced overdrive. Her hands gripped the front of his jacket. "What have you done to Weiss!" her shout echoed around the room.

He seemed hesitant to fight her despite her anger. "Nothing. We need to get out of here."

"Tell me!"

"There are White Fang here. Someone persuaded my parents to hire them as servants. They probably think it's going to elevate them in the new hierarchy."

White Fang? New hierarchy? That meant…

"Where's Weiss!" With a frantic strength that was previously unknown to her she spun them both around and threw him up against the car.

"It's too late. You need to get to safety. They'll kill you as well just because you knew her."

_It couldn't be too late. It couldn't be._  There would be screams, shouts, not dancing and laughter. It couldn't have started yet. She could still save the person she loved. She attempted to take a running step towards the door, but she tripped on her many skirts and hit the ground hard.

"Ruby!" Wraith yelled.

Ruby bounced to her feet, uncaring if she were hurt. It was impossible to fight wearing a gown. It might have been perfectly suited for dancing and looking pretty, but that was about it. Weiss wouldn't be able to fight either. She hurried over to the tool bench and searched it frantically.

"Either help me or get out of my way," Ruby hissed at Wraith as he moved to intercept her. She couldn't believe she'd trusted him. It had been her job to find out what was being planned at the balls, and she'd befriended one of the conspirators. If anything had happened to Weiss she swore never to forgive herself.

Finally finding a suitable tool she began to cut her corset off. It was the only way to remove her dress that took an age to unlace. It was hard-going though. The corset prevented her twisting her torso around she was working entirely by feel.

"Ruby what?"

"Cut it off, or get out of here." She interrupted him as there was another twang from the tightly strung cords.

His hands took the snips from hers. By trying to get her to safety he'd obviously showed he cared about her, but she was livid with him. Even if his parents had arranged this without his knowledge, he should have warned her, Weiss, and Winter at the first opportunity. Instead he'd tried to play the game he's always said he so despised.

Murder was wrong. That was it. Pure and simple. And yet he'd still chosen not to stop the White Fang. It may have hurt his family to be linked with a failed attack on their estate if it failed, whereas a successful one would yield the rewards they'd been promised. But there was only one right option.

And he'd chosen not to pick it.

Maybe he was trying to make it up to her now. Ruby flung away her destroyed corset. At any other time she would have felt satisfaction at doing what she'd always threatened to do, but there was nothing inside apart from fear. Consequently there was no embarrassment as she shrugged out of the dress in front of a boy ̶ ̶ not caring if the silk ripped in her haste ̶ ̶ and was left standing in her undergarments.

She didn't say another word but raced off, now free to run. Her feet slapped on the hard concrete and it was only a moment before she realised that shoes were following her. "Where's Weiss?" she barked over her shoulder as they neared the entrance hall.

"I don't know. They were trying to isolate her. The Lake Wing maybe? It's meant to be closed."

Ruby screamed obscenities in her head. She'd been relying on Weiss being somewhere in the rooms open to guests. Where the White Fang would have hesitated to attack her. If she were alone it might already be too late.

It wouldn't be. Couldn't be. She burst into the entrance hall, the doors smashing into the walls either side. Everyone turned to stare at her, and a significant number of mouths fell open at her entrance and state of undress. Ruby didn't care in the slightest. She cast around for directions, but unhelpfully there were no signposts.

"Lead the way," she told Wraith and he ran past her. The rooms with guests were a blur as the two of them raced through them. Ruby kept her eye out hoping against hope to see Weiss or Winter. It was to no avail.

In a sitting room full of comfy chairs and a roaring fire she did find another face she knew among the gossiping ladies. "Lobelia, get out of here! It's not safe! White Fang!" She barked as they raced by and as an afterthought she yelled, "Contact Erashan!" He might be able to help, somehow. Whether Lobelia understood the brief message she couldn't tell. They were through the room in a few heartbeats.

After that the number of guests began to trail away dramatically, as did the amount of illumination. This was clearly an area that wasn't meant to be explored by anyone other than the servants. If Weiss had wanted solitude it was possible she'd come here.

Not that it helped much. The Osier's house may not have been as big as others, but it was still enormous. It would take them an age to search the dozens of rooms.

"You go that way and I'll go ̶ ̶ "

Ruby cut off suggesting they split up as a voice floated from somewhere up ahead. "I'm going to enjoy this bitch."

Ruby started forward again, her bare soles allowing her to accelerate on even the polished floor. She rounded a corner and the first thing she saw was the figure dressed in white and blue. Down the other end of the corridor, Weiss was cornered in a dead end. Half a dozen servants surrounded her. Servants holding blades.

"Try it dog," Weiss spat at the leader. She may have been unarmed and outnumbered, but she remained composed, both her hands held out in front of her.

The White Fang moved to attack and Ruby lost all capacity for reasonable thought. Her entire consciousness was swallowed by the fact that Weiss was in danger. She saw red.

One moment she was at one end of the corridor, fifty feet away from Weiss, the next she wasn't. Every ornate window in the corridor shattered and a boom shook a shower of dust and plaster from the ceiling.

Ruby slammed into the wall behind Weiss with enough force to crack stone and the white of utter agony overwhelmed her vision. She tried to stagger to her feet and almost threw up. She didn't understand what had happened. Someone had been trying to hurt Weiss and… she'd punched them.

Ruby blinked tears of pain away from her eyes and her arm slowly came into focus. She did throw up then. A mouthful of vomit splattering over her smallclothes. Her forearm didn't look like an arm. It was bent backwards almost at a right angle, shards of white bone sticking through her skin. Blood had drenched it red.

Raising her head she looked back down the corridor. Everyone else was on their knees, their hands clamped over their ears. Everyone apart from one. The leader. The person she'd punched. She met his eyes and the glassy orbs stared back at her unseeingly. Her gaze roamed down his body.

Half his torso was simply missing. The right side of his ribcage had been torn away, glimmers of jagged white protruding from dark red, organs pooling on the floor below him. Ruby choked on her vomit. Splinters of bone and gore were all around her, Weiss was almost drenched in it, and so was she. The red petals swirling lackadaisically through the air were so out of place.

The others were just beginning to recover from the overpressure. More than one had dark crimson streaming from their ears and staggered as they rose, their balance ruined. But they'd come here for a reason, and the person they so hated was in their grasp.

Weiss recovered slower than they, and when she did her eyes first found focus on the person who'd come to her rescue. "Ruby?" she whispered disbelievingly.

Ruby tried to warn her about the White Fang rising around her, but when she opened her mouth a wave of nausea engulfed her. She could still see though. She saw Weiss' wide eyes, her perfect blood-covered face, and the figure directly behind her. The one raising his glimmering sword. It began its ever so slow descent.

"Weiss!" A shout rent the air. Ruby didn't know if Weiss was capable of hearing it or if it was just instinct that caused her to turn.

Suddenly Weiss remembered the reason why Ruby had tried to rescue her. She threw herself to the side. Her dodge wasn't fast enough, the Faunus readjusted his swing and it slammed against her thighs. Her many layers of flared dresses robbed the blow of some of its power, and the rest was absorbed by her Aura.

On all four Weiss scrambled away from him, but though the dress had helped stop the blow, its bulky design hindered her escape. The Faunus' sword got tangled with the material and he grabbed a handful of it hauling her back to him.

Ruby tried to go to her aid, but something was wrong with her body. Every time she moved the world spun wildly. Beyond Weiss another scuffle had broken out, though she was unable to see any details.

The Faunus manhandling the struggling form of Weiss grew tired of attempting to extract his hopeless caught weapon and instead punched her full in the face. Weiss' neck snapped back, her head bouncing off the floor, but she rode the pain. Her hand shot straight up between his legs, her fingers curled like talons.

His servants' livery was tight at the crotch, it offered scant protection, and Weiss didn't know the definition of mercy. Slowly his Aura began to give way to her grip and Weiss twisted as her fingers dug in to the vulnerable flesh. The Faunus' mouth was agape and his entire body seemed to have seized up.

Having almost gone through a full revolution with a savage snarl on her face, Weiss punched him with her other hand knocking him back and gaining herself some space. The narrow corridor was a hindrance and he blocked off another attacker. A third jumped at her, a battle cry on his lips. A shimmering white glyph materialised in front of him.

Weiss rose to her feet protectively in front of Ruby. With both of her hands free, the temperature dropped. On the glyph spinning horizontally in front of Weiss a Beowolf rose from the depths of the abyss. It was huge, larger than even an Alpha; its shoulders came up to her head and almost brushed the walls on either side.

Ruby didn't know what was happening. She'd never seen this before. The Beowolf was almost white in colour, but not an albino; it almost seemed ethereal. The sound it produced was very real though. As soon as it was fully formed it lifted its head to the sky, and let loose a bloodcurdling howl which stopped the White Fang in their tracks.

They weren't the only targets of its ire though. The Beowolf spun around and snapped at Weiss, fangs as long as daggers just inches from her face. Weiss stared it down, not flinching away. The standoff lasted but a few heartbeats, its muscles trembled with restrained violence. A growl filled the air, one so deep that Ruby didn't hear it so much as she felt it vibrating her organs.

With a dreadful finality the Beowolf slowly turned away from Weiss, its attention focussed on the White Fang in the corridor. The intensity of its growls increased, and the Faunus began to waver. They didn't get a chance to decide whether or not they were going to withdraw, Weiss touched the Beowolf on the side.

It shot forward with a speed that was shocking. Its huge hind legs accelerated it to a sprint within the space of a single bound. Standing so close the White Fang didn't have a chance to react. The Beowolf's side slammed into nearest with the force of a medium-speed crash and it swung its claws at another.

The brutal pair of impacts sent them cartwheeling backwards and the Beowolf leapt after them. As terrible as it was the White Fang all had strength similar to hunters. Armed and with the advantage of numbers they might even have been able to drive it back. Weiss had foreseen the possibility. A pair of smaller Beowolves hit them from the rear.

The carnage was terrible. Their Auras held out for a while, but where their blades bit home the Grimm showed no signs of pain or injury from the gashes. They just attacked all the harder. When the first Auras failed blood flowed in torrents. Claws sunk home, fangs dug in and ripped out chunks of warm flesh, and Weiss stood tall, watching the deaths with something close to exultation on her face.

Behind her Ruby couldn't see that, but she wasn't spared a view of the sight of the massacre. Fresh bile rose in her throat. Even the White Fang didn't deserve to be torn apart while they were still living. It didn't matter. They were being attacked by Grimm, strange almost magical Grimm, but Grimm all the same, and they'd driven themselves up into a frenzy.

Ruby glanced down at her arm. The broken one stained crimson. It didn't hurt much anymore, whether she was slipping into shock or her Aura had gone to work it was impossible to tell, but it didn't change the fact that it was drenched in blood. Both hers and the blood of the man she'd killed.

She'd killed once before, and that had been probably the most challenging topic raised in her counselling sessions. Celeste had told her that her guilt wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Killing should never be easy. It should never be something she was able to do without remorse.

But in a huntress's line of work, it was also something that couldn't be guaranteed to be avoided. If that were the case she had to make sure that if she took a life it was for the right reasons. It had taken a long time for Celeste to convince her that there hadn't been another way to deal with the sniper on the wall back in Vale. If she'd hesitated, tried something different, more people would have died. It had been the only option.

Was that the case here? Could she have done something different? It didn't help that Ruby's mind was blank in the seconds between seeing Weiss and slamming into the wall behind her. She didn't know what had happened. Had she saved Weiss' life? Perhaps. That was surely worth it, wasn't it? The life of the woman she loved for a terrorist's. That was a good trade surely? Even with those scales in her head Ruby felt repulsed by herself.

She was a huntress, and she was a murderer. Her mum would be ashamed.

The rending of bone brought her back. One of the Grimm was feeding, splintering its way inside a rib cage to reach the delicious morsel within. Weiss strode past the beast without concern, her hand stroking its back as if it were a domesticated animal. It broke off from its feeding at her touch and scampered after her.

There were only two other people alive in the corridor. A Faunus woman holding her bleeding gut and… Wraith. It was his shout that may have warned Weiss, he'd tried to distract some of the White Fang at the rear. He tried to make amends, but Weiss wouldn't know that.

Ruby stifled a scream as she pulled her broken arm tight against her body with her good one. Her head swam as she rose, but she fought through it, she had to tell Weiss. She staggered forwards, Weiss unaware of her as she stared down at the last White Fang member. Ruby didn't hear what Weiss had said to her, but she heard the reply.

"Fuck you!" the Faunus hissed, her hands clamped over her stomach.

Weiss took a deliberate step back and clicked her fingers. The two smaller Beowolves pounced. They tore the woman apart in a matter of heartbeats. The coldness of the action stunned Ruby. Weiss had just executed the woman in perhaps the worst way imaginable, all without the slightest hint of emotion on her blood splattered face. It was the most terrifying thing Ruby had seen all evening.

Weiss turned to Wraith, one of her hands resting on the head of the Alpha Beowolf, kneading its ears as if it were just a large dog, not a monster. "Speak," she instructed over the horrifying sounds of feeding and the growls of the Alpha.

"He's not with them." Ruby gave the Beowolves a wide berth, and they were too engrossed by their meal to notice her.

Emotion flared back into Weiss' face in an instant. Concern and worry filled her features. "What on Remnant are you doing up?" She caught a sight of Ruby's compound fracture. Her hand flew to cover her mouth. "My god."

"It's fine." It really wasn't, every step sent waves of agony through her. "He'd not with them," she repeated. Though Weiss may have come towards her, the Beowolf still crouched over Wraith.

"Ruby this is his house. Of course he's involved. They were wearing Osier uniforms." Weiss' words had the finality of a headsman's axe.

"No… I mean. Yes. He was, but he also warned me. He helped you remember." Weiss turned sceptically towards him. "We don't have time. This wasn't all of them. You have to find Winter."

"Winter…" It appeared Weiss had either forgotten about her or believed the attack was limited to her. The Beowolf barked in Wraith's face. He didn't dare move. "Where is she?"

"Uhh…" Wraith didn't seem to be handling having a Beowolf less than a foot away from him all that well. His eyes were wide and panicked. "The business rooms?"

He couldn't be expected to know, but the answer made sense to Weiss. Ruby could see how she wanted to rush off to her sister's defence, but how she wasn't willing to leave her either. "I'm coming with you," Ruby stated.

"Don't be ridiculous. Your arm ̶ ̶ "

"It's fine," she repeated through clenched teeth. Even if there were all these white Grimm around she wasn't going to let Weiss go into danger alone. Weiss started to deny her, "We don't have time. Winter's in danger."

Weiss knew that too. If they had any amount of coordination the White Fang would have started their attacks at the same instant. It might already be too late.

"Ok, but don't try and keep up if you can't." The Beowolf snapped its fangs shut less than an inch from Wraith's nose. "You keep her safe. If anything happens to her I'll rip your fucking throat out," Weiss snarled at him every bit as menacing as the Grimm. After what he'd witnessed in this corridor it was unlikely that he believed her unable. The curse was almost more shocking than the threat to Ruby. She'd never heard Weiss use such coarse language before.

Without further delay Weiss dashed off, her Beowolves rocketing past her at a full sprint. Ruby hurried in her wake. She almost couldn't see through the pain, but at the same time she couldn't let Weiss down. She flared her Aura hoping it would at least keep her from passing out. Normally Weiss wouldn't stand a chance in a race against her; this time the reverse was true. Weiss grew more distant every moment.

Something cawed from outside. Ruby caught a brief glance of a baby Nevermore, glowing the same strange white. What were they? Weiss had never shown her anything like this before, but they were clearly under her control. She didn't know how Weiss was doing it? It wasn't her Semblance, that was Glyphs and no one got two. The ethereal beings did tug at her memories though. She was sure she'd had a story read to her once where the hero had fought with mystical creatures by their side.

Wraith caught up to her. Her face was pale, but that was understandable, even without the fracture her face would have been as white as a sheet after that corridor. With it she was barely able to stay upright. He took her good shoulder and offered her support.

As they neared the rooms where the other guests had been, shouting became audible. The first room was devoid of anyone, but the second contained the corpse of an old man, his throat cut ear to ear, his body lying in a pool of blood. It appeared the White Fang's targets had not been limited to the Schnees. They had gone after their allies as well.

A bark ripped through the walls. It came again, and again, as regular as a metronome. Ruby directed herself towards it. It seemed to be signalling something. Likely Weiss had sent them forward to scout for her. Ruby didn't actually know if that was possible.

Her intuition proved correct. They caught up with Weiss and her Beowolves outside a series of individual rooms with tables set up inside. Weiss stood by the doors to the largest, it was quiet within, there certainly wasn't any fighting, but the stench wafting out was putrid.

Weiss almost seemed afraid to go in, to see what might be the body of her sister, but slowly she pushed open the door. The reason for the gag-inducing smell became apparent. Wraith threw up all over his shoes. The interior of the room made the brutality of the corridor look like a picnic.

Ruby wasn't even able to accurately count just how many corpses were in there. They were in too many pieces. They had literally been ripped limb from limb and then some. The body parts were scattered everywhere and some had even impacted the walls with enough force that they stuck. The grisly mounted trophies of the thing which had carried out the massacre.

She didn't even know what it was. It didn't have the bulk of an Ursa or any fur on its body; it almost seemed reptilian in nature. It was much larger than an Ursa though, it was too large for the room even. The spines on its hunched back had gouged holes in the ceiling fifteen feet above and even then it was crouched down with the base of its thick tail on the floor. A head with a snout that almost looked like a shortened aquatic reptile's turned towards them. It had horns which curled downwards around its jaws.

Ruby's rapidly beating heart skipped a beat. She was used to facing Grimm, but this was a monster that would cause even her to think again. It chilled her to her very bones. She knew about different types of Grimm in other parts of the world, Professor Port had even had some bones, but he'd never had anything which resembled this.

Her gaze turned to its limbs. Its long legs had a huge claw on each toe, but it was its arms which caught her attention. They were humanoid in nature, and they were long, almost as long as its body. On their tips were claws, claws that had to be at least a foot in length if not more. They appeared as sharp as swords.

This Grimm, whatever it was, had clearly evolved into a killing machine of almost unmatched ferocity. It had certainly made short work of all those who'd been in the room. She couldn't guess at its colour though, for it glowed white just like all the other Grimm in the corridor.

Past the carnage Winter huddled against the wall, the Grimm crouched over her protectively. She was covered in blood, but didn't seem to be carrying any major injuries.

"Stay here," Weiss made a decision and stepped into the room.

The Grimm reacted with a speed that was staggering. Something that big should have been slow, had to be slow, it wasn't. Weiss barely had time to throw herself backwards as it leapt at her, its claws ripping through the air. Weiss stumbled backwards, and the Grimm returned to the centre of the room.

"Weiss!" Ruby cried as she fell to her knees. The jolt to her arm almost made her pass out, but she didn't care. Blood was pouring out of a cut to Weiss' face.

"I'm fine," she sat up, ripping one of her gloves off and holding it to the wound.

Ruby peered closer. Weiss had got ridiculously lucky. Only a single claw had scored the skin over her right eye, coming ever so close to her eyeball. In fact, it almost seemed to be a mirror image of the scar over her other eye. Winter's hesitancy to talk about her Semblance came back to her. Was that what had happened when they younger? A game gone wrong, a misstep in training, or maybe even an argument?

When Weiss pulled her glove away the wound was gone, her Aura having made quick work of it, and climbed to her feet. She made a gesture and her Beowolves started forwards, but then she paused.

Winter had Summoned the Grimm to defend herself, if Weiss attacked it she was in effect attacking Winter. It would only cause more distress to someone who was unused to real combat. Ruby saw what Weiss was thinking.

"No!" she grabbed Weiss' arm.

Weiss shrugged her off and stepped away, a glyph forming between them and sealing her in the room with the monster.

"Winter, it's me, Weiss. Your sister. I'm here to help." There was a tremor in her voice.

The Grimm surged forward, but this time Weiss didn't flinch away.

"It's me." Her face was but inches from the snapping maw and the claws that could tear her apart, that had torn so many apart, were hovering close by.

"Weiss?" The question was tentative, afraid.

"Yes, it's me. You're safe Winter. I'm here. You don't need him anymore," she spoke comfortingly.

"But… the White Fang?" Winter was clearly in shock.

"They're gone. You did well Winter, really well. But I'm handling it now. So why don't you tell him to go away." Weiss had crouched down so she could peer at her sister through the beast's legs.

"They're gone?"

"Yes," Weiss said with a smile that seemed entirely out of place on her blood covered visage.

It seemed to settle Winter's nerves though, the Grimm gradually faded into nothingness. As soon as it disappeared, Weiss dropped the portal blocking the door and rushed forward to check her on her sister.

Ruby really didn't want to enter the room littered with so many body parts, but she was absolutely livid with Weiss. They were meant to be partners and she'd locked her out here while she went to face that thing while entirely unarmed. She could have been killed. That she was injured didn't mollify Ruby in the slightest. Her bare feet sloshed in things she really shouldn't be learning the texture of, and the sensations almost made her throw up again.

At least it appeared that Winter was ok, she'd recovered some of her normal composure, though she avoided looking around the room too much. The White Fang who'd attacked her clearly hadn't expected to be confronted by that thing, but then there was no way they could have.

Ruby almost started shouting at Weiss when she noticed the phone in her hand.

"Erashan," Weiss said. "We need extraction." A pause. "You know?" Another. "Ok good. Put all our facilities on high alert, and recall everyone and ̶ ̶ "

She was interrupted in mid-speech. Beneath the red staining her skin, the blood drained entirely from her face. Her phone tumbled from limp fingers. Ruby barely heard her whisper.

"It's father…"

 


	32. Chapter 32

Yang leaned up against the sill and stared out the window. The bright, dawn streets were entirely deserted. Some would even go so far as to say they were dead. Not a soul moved in any of them.

It wasn't surprising. The Atlesian forces had advanced so rapidly and were now so close to the city of Vale that even the White Fang weren't able to refute their presence. Not when Atlesian aircraft were visible near the horizon. They couldn't lie to the population anymore. Their attempts at halting or even slowing down the invasion had failed.

The soldiers might have believed their cause was just, but zeal was no match for the most powerful military on the planet. If what Blake had told her was true the White Fang never expected to have to fight Atlas; they'd apparently been given steadfast assurances to that effect. The assurances hadn't held.

They might have got away with the crimes against Atlas in the initial capture of Vale ̶ ̶ it had appeared to be the case when the Council was non-committal for any form of reprisals ̶ ̶ but the White Fang should have expected only one response to a major attack on the Atlesian homeland.

The bombing of Tintagel Castle had been a mistake, and it was one which the leaders were ruing now. The White Fang had only had months to repair and shore up the defences of Vale, all the while having to deal with a substantially reduced infrastructure and securing their captured territory. It hadn't been even close to enough time. They'd built new weapons, even some new Knights, but they hadn't been able to produce aircraft.

In the modern theatre of war, air power was key. Even if it was only the vanguard of the military on the horizon, the air was still dotted with dozens of ships bristling with missiles and cannons. There was little the White Fang could do against them. They had shoulder-mounted weapons, but the aircraft were designed with them in mind. The anti-air batteries around the city would prove a larger deterrent, but by the time they were useful it would be close to too late.

The White Fang had hoped to stop the Atlesian forces before they neared Vale; they'd failed. All that was left for them to defend was the walls. Yang could see them now, hurrying back and forth like ants, carrying crates and boxes, preparing themselves for what was coming.

The civilians were as well. When they should have been on the streets going to work or shopping, they were instead huddled inside. The horrors of war were far too familiar for them to risk going leaving their homes. Most still had trouble forgetting what had happened the last time there had been fighting inside the walls. Any building with a basement had been converted into a shelter where people prayed they would be safe.

"See anything?" Velvet asked from where she was lying on the sofa.

The apartment Torchwick had found her and Coco was much nicer than the tiny one he'd assigned Yang and Blake. It still wasn't as big as they were undoubtedly used to, but at least they had a sofa. It was just as well; Velvet couldn't move by herself.

Her team had paid a heavy price for their role in Yang's rescue mission. Thankfully none had died, but there had been numerous injuries. The first part of the plan had worked perfectly. They'd created a distraction, and it had been a big one. The second part of the plan was where the difficulties had occurred.

They hadn't been able to quietly fade back into the city as had been the intention. Instead they'd had to fight their way out. Velvet, who had already been exhausted from destroying the Knights, had been forced to utilise her Semblance again. That was the source of the explosion that had reached the infiltration team even when they were underground.

Velvet's efforts were enough to create a hole through which they could escape but it had left her close to defenceless. With her Aura depleted she'd taken a bullet in the thigh. Luckily it had missed the bone, and they'd managed to stabilise the wound, but it was still too painful to move.

Yang rose from the window and those in the room turned to look at her. She dropped into an empty chair. "Nope."

None of them could really say whether that was a good thing or not. The recapture of Vale and the ousting of the White Fang had been the goal they'd been working towards for months. It was so close and yet…

There would be casualties. Hundreds, if not thousands. If they were lucky they would only be among the members of the White Fang. Yang laughed softly under her breath.  _If they were lucky._ The White Fang were still people. Most weren't even bad people. They were just easily led individuals who'd believed either the White Fang propaganda or in what the organisation had been trying to accomplish here.

The new recruits, those poorly trained and unsuited to combat, they would be the first to fall. The White Fang elite, those with experience, would last longer. They would withdraw into the city and the Atlesian army would have to clear it street by street.

Urban fighting was tough, the brief taste she'd had a few months ago had taught her that, but this would be so much worse. The number of combatants who would be crammed into the city had significantly increased in comparison. The White Fang would have shooters in almost every building, every window, and they would choose ones with civilians in them.

The Atlesian forces would have to make a decision, but regardless of what that was, civilians would die. They always died in war. It was almost an unwritten law of the universe. War invariably hurts the people who want nothing to do with it.

With such intense resistance as they were likely to face, it would take weeks for the Atlesian forces to retake the city. Weeks where the streets would run red with blood.

She didn't know what to do. Like the rest of the cells they were at an impasse. Technically they'd successfully carried out their mission. They had disrupted the White Fang's operations and paved the way for this reinvasion. They didn't have to get involved in the coming horror.

If they did though, if they wilfully waded back into the war, they could save lives. As hunters they could survive ambushes which would kill normal soldiers, they could clear buildings without having to resort to heavy weapons, saving civilians. They could do good here.

But to accomplish good they would have to carry out what some might consider evil. The White Fang would not quietly surrender, they would have to injure at least, most likely kill. One life for another. Was it worth it? Who got to make that call? Yang didn't know.

All of them were torn from their internal reflection as a red and black portal spiralled into existence along one of the walls. Yang's heart rate jumped up almost as quickly as she had. It had been nearly thirty six hours since she'd walked away from Raven.

In those long hours she'd tried to avoid thinking about her. She'd failed.  _Her mother_  was in almost all her thoughts. It had been her naïve belief that finding her and getting some answers would sever the last of the ties Yang had to her. Instead they'd only become more tangled. Raven loved her, that much was clear. But she'd also abandoned her.

The leg that came out of the portal was not one she'd been expecting however. Taiyang strode into the room, his gaze immediately locating his daughter.

"Yang," he said, the relief in his voice at her being here obvious. His arms opened and he almost went to hug her. As drunk as he may have been in her childhood, he wasn't stupid; he knew about Yang's animosity towards him.

Yang approached and sniffed reflexively. Her dad could with do with some mints or something, but his breath was clear of the tang of alcohol. She stepped into his hug. Unless her intuition was mistaken, in the hours since the rescue he hadn't rushed to a bar or shop. He'd been dry. As long as he stayed that way, Yang was willing to add him to the ever-growing list of names that she was starting over with. Nearly losing someone made her reassess her relationship with all of them.

Whatever he'd done in the past he was still her father. Of course if she thought that, then surely that held for her mother as well? For his part Taiyang squeezed her hard. Her hugging technique had been derived from his, only he had a lot more muscle.

Qrow entered the room behind Taiyang. As surprising as it was, and despite how he seemed to curse about his sobriety with every other sentence, he hadn't started drinking either. Perhaps it was rediscovering Raven? Yang didn't think that likely; she'd been longing for a drink ever since meeting her. It was more likely that a city of the brink of war was the last place that it was desirable to get hammered.

"Are you all here?" Taiyang asked as they broke apart. He cast his gaze around the living room, counting.

"Yeah," Yang nodded. The few others were in the adjoining rooms getting some rest.

"Good. We're leaving. Grab whatever you need. Qrow," he gestured him to rouse the others.

"What?" Yang didn't understand.

"You're getting out of the city." His tone left no room for argument. Yang had never been very good at listening to authority figures.

"No." Despite her earlier reflection, she wasn't prepared to leave the city entirely. Not before she'd made up her mind.

"You are." Taiyang's jaw jutted as he stared his daughter down.

"Where are we going?" Coco asked from the sofa where Velvet's head had been pillowed on her lap.

"Out of the city. That's all that matters."

"Why?"

Taiyang rounded on Coco angrily. His temper was another thing Yang had inherited from him. He waved his arm towards the window. "Do I really need to explain it? You do not want to be in a city under siege. Believe me. We're taking you all somewhere safe."

"But ̶ ̶ "

"No  _buts,_ " he interrupted her, "This is not a discussion. You might be hunters, but all it would take is a stray rocket and you'd all be dead. I'm not going to let that happen. So you will be leaving, even if I have to pick you up and throw you through that portal. Is that understood?"

Coco sat momentarily speechless at being addressed as if she were nothing more than a petulant child.

"What about everyone else? All the other people?" Yang asked.

Taiyang closed his eyes momentarily before turning to her. When he spoke there was no anger in his tone, only world-weary experience. "Sometimes Yang, you have to look after yourself first. It's a lesson all hunters have to learn at some point. You can never save everybody…"

Yang tried to say something, but she just couldn't. What her dad was suggesting was cowardice. It wasn't right.

"Yang, you've done enough. You all have. You should never have been put in this scenario. You're all still students. No one could have expected more from you. It's time for you to take a step back. Let others take your place. There's no shame in that."

He perhaps sensed she had more argument in her. "Look around you. Your friends are hurt. They're not ready for this fight. You shouldn't be either. Aren't you tired?"

She was. She really was. Both mentally and physically. Taiyang had spoken the truth. Though Velvet had taken the worst wound, none of them had emerged without a scratch.

Yang nodded.

"Thank you," relief saturated his voice.

Blake emerged from one of the bedrooms, still blinking blearily. She'd obviously heard what was being discussed though.

"Is this because of what  _she_ said? About the city falling to a force of evil?" They were left in no doubt as to whom  _she_ was or what Blake thought of her declaration.

Taiyang took a while to answer. "Raven… Raven's… She's been alone too long. But she was right. It doesn't matter who is attacking the city. It will still be dangerous for anyone in it. I'm not going to let you subject yourselves to that."

Blake didn't seem convinced, but shrugged her shoulders. After giving so much of herself to this mission, perhaps she'd had her fill of fighting as well.

It only took them a few minutes to gather their gear. They'd all already had a bag ready for a quick departure. Taiyang made sure to warn the others what to expect when they went through the portal. Sun had told them about what had happened on their end, leaving out the personal details discussed, but Yang very much doubted that words could do the sensation justice. She been through it twice now, and was not looking forward to the third time.

At least she managed to avoid throwing up. She'd ended up inside what looked like a cave, and a figure was already there. Yang had known she would be, even if she wasn't entirely sure if that was what she wanted.

In the light filtering through the entrance Raven appeared no less intimidating. She wasn't wearing her mask, but there was just something in her stance. Standing there like that, almost silhouetted against the cave entrance. She could have been the subject of a painting of a beautiful huntress. Ready to take on the world.

Though Raven looked at her with longing hidden behind her eyes; Yang honestly had no way of dealing with her that didn't hurt. To avoid it she turned back to the portal, catching and lowering a green Neptune to the floor before he fell down. Those who hadn't experienced it before handled the translocation just as badly as Taiyang had probably guessed they would. The light in the cave dimmed.

The cave opening lead to a ledge on a cliff face, fifty feet above the green forest stretching out below. A few miles away Vale was clearly visible. The CCT with Beacon behind it rose into the sky.

The sun returning in full force dazzled her. High above an Atlesian ship drifted towards the city. It was huge, but it wasn't the size of a dreadnought ̶ ̶ it must have been a frigate or similar. It was not alone. Bullheads and other smaller craft darted about in formations, sweeping the forest below for any possible resistance.

There was another frigate about a mile way on either side of the one high above, each with its own compliment of support aircraft. The scene was repeated for as far as she could see. Atlesian ships approached Vale from every single direction, even over the sea. There would be no escape for the White Fang.

The frigates were large, but they didn't hold her attention. The dreadnoughts did. They flew behind the vanguard, close together and on a vector which would take them over the city proper. The Deliverance had taken her breath away when it had arrived over the city. It had been the largest craft she'd ever seen. It had even made her question her understanding of gravity.

She hadn't understood why any country would need something like that to fight Grimm. Now she knew that wasn't what they were originally designed for. They were the ships that the concept of modern warfare was orchestrated around. They'd been designed for this. To attack people, cities. Even with the loss of one, Atlas had still deployed three. If Yang had ever had any doubts as to who would win this war, witnessing the full military might of Atlas erased them entirely. The White Fang, for all their bluster and bravado, stood no chance.

A quartet of rockets streaked up from the canopy below. In a fraction of a second they accelerated into the heavens, each tracking one of the small craft. Flares blossomed and chaff shimmered as the targeted ships deployed countermeasures and swerved.

Three of the missiles were fooled; one struck its target. The Bullhead's engines belched smoke. After recovering from a spin it managed to remain airborne and began limping towards safety. Yang could almost imagine the White Fang cheering their success, but what did taking one Bullhead out of action matter in the face of this? There must have been hundreds in the sky.

The White Fang didn't have long to celebrate. A salvo of missiles from the frigate sped towards the area where the anti-air fire had originated. Still distant from their target they exploded. A cloud of ball bearings travelling at thousands of miles an hour.

It was similar to a shotgun blast in the same way a spark was to a blacksmith's flame. An acre or more of forest turned to matchsticks in a heartbeat. Simply nothing taller than a few feet remained. If the White Fang had been in there, their bodies were unlikely to be identifiable as such. The carnage didn't stop a wave of attack craft strafing the area though; their explosive rounds throwing chunks of soil and debris into the air.

Yang's mouth fell open. This was warfare on a scale she'd never witnessed before, that no one had for decades, and it was being repeated all up and down the line. In the midst of this, a hunter was worth nothing.

Another boom echoed in the cave and Raven came abreast of her daughter. When she spoke it was in a heavy and sombre tone.

"So it begins…"

* * *

 

"Snap!"

Penny slammed her palm on the log stump they were using for a table. Another hand landed a fraction of a moment later. Penny swept the loose pile of cards in the centre towards her.

"Yes," she grinned as she added those cards to her own stack of facedown ones.

"Damn," her brother said, looking at the few cards he had remaining.

_Her brother._ She was still unable to believe that. After being so alone so long, with only her father to love her, now she had a brother.

The card game was surely over. Her father had always warned her that being a poor winner was just as bad as a sore loser. Even bearing that in mind she was unable to keep the smile off her face at just how much fun this was. Orion didn't seem to mind overly much either. He was always a little grumpy.

"I warned you not to play against her." Carina flopped down next to their stump. "Penny's too good."

Carina smiled at her older sister. To put in bluntly, to Penny's admittedly biased eye, Carina was completely adorable. Unfairly adorable. She had enormous sapphire eyes set in a round face. Her dress was bright blue, cut to her girlish figure and matching the ribbons securing her pigtails. She was several years younger than Penny, young enough that she would only just be starting her first years at a preliminary combat school.

It was clear to Penny, even in the short time they'd known each other, that Carina looked up to her. She was Carina's role model and had to live up to the high standard that being an older sister required. That of course meant winning.

"You should have listened to her." Penny tapped her fingernails on her pile of cards that contained the entire deck bar one. "Your turn."

Orion's hand moved towards his lone card but then paused. "You know what, why don't we call it a draw?"

Carina giggled. "That's against the rules. Penny beat you fair and square." She held up a palm and Penny high-fived her.

"I feel as if you aren't the most impartial referee."

An aircraft zipped overhead, almost brushing the treetops, its wake scattered their cards to the wind. Carina jumped up and tried to snatch as many out of the air as possible, making a game out of the unfortunate situation.

Orion smiled at Penny smugly. "Well that is a shame… And I was just about to get right back into it. I guess that makes it a draw then."

Penny agreed. She didn't mind. The playing was the fun part, not the winning. It still amazed her she had so many people to play with now. Carina returned with a handful of cards, clearly proud of herself, and Penny tousled her hair. She'd always wanted to do that to someone, and Carina beamed up at her in response.

An officer approached where they had been playing in the middle of the forward operating base. Along with her six brothers and seven sisters Penny snapped to attention.

"It's almost time. Do you need any clarification of your orders?"

"That won't be necessary sir," Professor Ozpin had explained them clearly.

"Good. The assault will begin in thirty minutes. Get prepared."

The officer knew some of their background, but he probably didn't realise they didn't have to 'get prepared'. They were combat ready. Penny and her siblings stood still while all around them the forces of Atlas moved into position.

The dreadnoughts hovering impossibly overhead. They were so large it was mind-boggling. General Ironwood had brought one to Vale before, but the White Fang had destroyed it. She didn't know how such a thing was possible. It concerned her greatly that it may well happen again, but surely they'd put countermeasures in place.

The forward command point was on a hill which presented a good view of the city below. She loved Vale. Her time spent there had been some of the happiest of her life. It tugged at her heart to see it in the hands of such bad people. If only she'd been there she could have done something about it.

It was unfortunate indeed that her father had needed her urgently back in Atlas before the White Fang had made their move. She might have been able to prove the difference. Her father said it was the undeserved guilt which caused her bad dreams. That and watching too much of the news. In some of her dreams, nightmares really, she was back there, on the streets, as the White Fang made their move.

The frequency of her nightmares had diminished since the day Orion had come into her life. Having a family, a proper, big family, helped so much. Her father loved her, but was always so busy with work; sometimes he couldn't be there for her.

As the time ticked down on the clock in the corner of her vision she could see small figures on the walls preparing. What they were doing she didn't know, and even her vision couldn't zoom enough to see. Occasionally missiles rose from the forest and the Atlesian forces returned fire. Penny tuned into the encrypted military radio with a thought; despite the resistance all forces would be in position as planned.

With five minutes left the smaller aircraft withdrew leaving only the frigates and dreadnoughts hovering ominously all around the city. With three remaining the dreadnoughts' main guns lowered from their hidden chambers. With two left the covers on the missile pods slid open, baring their payloads. As the timer reached one the hum of the dreadnought overhead ̶ ̶ the Xanthos ̶ ̶ reached a fever pitch; its reactors charging banks of capacitors.

Three seconds… soldiers all around ducked down. Two… Penny checked on her siblings. One… she ordered her audio-receptors to shut down.

Penny missed the clock hitting zero. Three columns of fire jumped between the main weapons of the dreadnoughts and Vale's wall in an instant. Her audio-receptors may have been disabled, but it didn't stop the shockwaves from almost knocking her flat. Some soldiers weren't so lucky.

The railguns didn't use explosives to accelerate their projectile; instead the flames came as a result of the rounds compressing the air all around them. The twenty kilogram projectiles travelling ten times the speed of sound detonated while in the air, sending a calculated cloud of shrapnel out horizontally.

Ultra-dense hyperkinetic metal hit stone. They both lost. Penny couldn't see anything that was happening in the target area, no matter what she tried. Visible, ultraviolet, infrared, they were all overwhelmed by the colossal impacts.

When her vision was finally able to penetrate the tempestuous clouds of dust her breath caught in her throat. Two hundred meters of Vale's wall had ceased to be. On her second day visiting Vale she'd persuaded General Ironwood to allow her to take a tour of the wall. Standing at its base with it towering over her and stretching in every direction had made her feel insignificant, but in a good way. It was meant to protect people from the monsters who sought to kill them. It may have stood against Grimm, but as the White Fang had proved previously, it was vulnerable to the efforts of man.

The dreadnoughts didn't fire again. Instead they and the entire assault force waited several minutes until the dust cleared. What it unveiled was even more shocking in the visible spectrum. Even the smaller parts of the projectiles hadn't stopped at the wall; they'd passed straight through it before hammering into the ground. Almost a block of buildings had been levelled behind the still collapsing wall.

After letting the image ̶ ̶ the futility of the situation ̶ ̶ sink in, the dreadnoughts slowly turned their guns on other sections of the wall. It had the desired effects. The majority of the White Fang manning it fled. They were mostly the new recruits; more experienced fighters wouldn't be sacrificed to make a stand against Atlesian air power. And after that demonstration they ran out of courage. They streamed down the steps, ignoring the threats of the few brave officers.

Some sections stayed resolute, the men better motivated or the officers more terrifying. Those sections received salvos of airburst missiles until even their resolve failed. Penny scanned along the fortification's length; there were very few figures in sight. Eight minutes had passed and Atlas had taken the wall.

There was enough firepower to level it in its entirety, but that wasn't the plan. Vale needed it. Though the Grimm presented no threat with the Atlesian military present, at one point they would have to leave. In the long run it would be much better to capture the city with the wall relatively intact.

Not to mention it would save lives. The first part of the plan had been accomplished, there was a breach, now it was Penny's and her siblings turn. The officer received word from the Xanthos and gave them the command.

In an instant they were off; sprinting at full tilt in almost perfect unison through the forest. Just as they'd practiced they meshed their sensor networks together. Penny's awareness expanded dramatically. It only took them a few minutes to reach the breach. Dust hung in the air near the rubble. It likely would have caused problems for anyone else, as would the shifting terrain, but she and her siblings simply bounded over it all in a few leaps.

Just inside the walls the city was devastated. Homes and apartments levelled. There were bodies as well, though mainly White Fang. In the future their fate would likely touch her, but in her combat-enhanced zone her algorithms simply marked the cooling corpses as no threat.

The fourteen of them ran on, quickly peeling off down their designated routes. They all had their objectives; Penny fixed her eyes on hers. The CCT towered above the city. The White Fang had used a virus to capture control of the Knights that had been stationed here. It was her responsibility to use their own tactic against them. Her father had given her another virus, one he'd personally written, and the CCT would broadcast it to every Knight in the city.

Automatic gunfire roared out from the windows of a third floor apartment building, ricocheting off the road all around her. Her targeting processor zoomed in, scanning through the walls. Eight hostiles, three possible civilians. They were marked in red and yellow accordingly.

The White Fang might have thought they'd be safe on the third floor, that their attack would force her to withdraw to find shelter, to slow down. What they hadn't expected was for her calculations to take a fraction of a second and her steps not to falter in the slightest.

Penny went to combat phase beta. Blades floated from her back and unfolded. Two shot forward even faster than she could run and buried themselves in the wall near the third floor. She jumped in the air and then activated the sonic resonators in the hilts.

Her body lurched as she flew like an arrow towards the apartment. The White Fang in the window paused in the act of reloading a moment before Penny slammed into him. He was catapulted backwards, the colour of his overlay turned maroon as his Aura failed. The other seven hostiles hesitated. It was a mistake.

It would have been so easy to kill them, but she didn't want to. Despite what they'd done to General Ironwood and so many others, they deserved to face the law, face justice. In that aspect her orders benefited her. Though they didn't prohibit killing, if possible prisoners should be taken. That she could agree with.

Her swords lanced out, turning at the final instant to strike them with the flat of the blades. In a maelstrom of shimmering metal and sonic twangs each member of the White Fang fought the equivalent of a phantom. As each one went down the odds became worse for the others, until the last had to fight eight blades alone. His silhouette turned maroon.

Her swords zipped back to her, ready. The civilians had been correctly identified. They were human and restrained near the windows; living shields. They were in no danger now though. Ignoring their pleas she left them where they were as she secured the prisoners before tagging their presence on the military's ever-updating virtual map of Vale.

It was then she noticed she was lagging behind some of her siblings. They'd marked more buildings as safe and captured more prisoners. For a second her awareness flitted through each of their sensors. They were all doing well, none had sustained a single injury, but she couldn't allow them to accomplish their own objectives before she succeeded with hers. She leapt from the window and broke into a sprint. The game was on.

* * *

 

"Damn…" Sun said from where they were all standing in the mouth of the cave.

In Blake's opinion that succinctly summed up what they were watching. The power being displayed in the assault was awe-inspiring. There was no doubt in her mind that Atlas had brought multiple times the numbers that they actually needed to retake Vale. This was a deliberately crude demonstration of what would happen to anyone who decided to throw their weight up against Atlas'.

There would only be one winner. The White Fang was being crushed and any hope for Faunus rights went with them. After this there would only be more racism, more reprisal attacks, and then the cycle would just begin again. Another group of Faunus would get together and decide what was happening to them was wrong. After the example here they would demonstrate peacefully, until they realised it simply didn't work and a new terrorist group would rise from the White Fang's ashes.

It was that, more than a comparison of her capability to Atlas' military, which made her feel helpless. There was simply nothing that could be done to prevent it. No matter what she did it was inevitable, and thousands more lives would be ripped apart because of it.

The Faunus in Vale had believed they had a chance, a chance that may have been won through violence, but a chance all the same. It was a beautiful rose covered in thorns and it had only left them bleeding.

A countless number of soldiers and Knights streamed in through the breach in the wall, spreading out to secure the sectors. In that at least Blake was grateful. With as much firepower as the Atlesian forces possessed they could have turned the city into a charnel house. Instead their strategy was evidently to try and make the majority of the White Fang forces to surrender.

Some wouldn't though. They couldn't. They'd put too much of themselves into this fight, sacrificing everything else, and they would see it through to the end. No matter what.

Blake turned away from Vale, she'd seen enough, and headed back into a cave. Staying in one wasn't all that unusual for her, it was often an improvement over sleeping in the open. As this one went it was one of the better ones. Situated halfway up a cliff it hadn't had to play host to whatever Grimm had decided to seek shelter. It was relatively spacious and there was even moisture seeping out of a section of rock.

They wouldn't have to stay, but someone had been. That person was sitting on the small camp bed that was pushed up against one of the walls. Raven appeared forlorn, staring sightlessly at the floor, fingers combing through a strand of her onyx hair. She'd been a part of this. Whatever her goals had been they were falling apart as assuredly as the White Fang's. Everything she'd done had been for nothing.

It definitely didn't help that, though the daughter she'd found again after so long was only a few feet away, Yang may as well have been in a different country. There was just a chasm of history between them that few would be able to find the strength to leap.

Blake didn't know if Yang should even try. Raven had made her decision. She'd abandoned Yang when a child needed their mother most. It wasn't up to her just to decide when to waltz back into her daughter's life. She didn't have the right.

It was her anger at that which had caused her darkest secret to come tumbling out. It had been the last thing she'd wanted to reveal. It was all very well her being a terrorist, most of her friends had absorbed that knowledge without too much backlash. Her murdering her unborn child was so much worse.

It was murder, no matter what anyone tried to tell her. It was her body. She should have known, should have realised. Instead she'd been only too happy to try and drown him in alcohol. It might have been too early to tell, but she was sure her child had been a boy. She just knew. Whenever her thoughts travelled back it always for her to hold her son in her arms, to see him playing, growing up.

Not that she would have been a good mother. She probably would have been worse than Raven. Was worse. At least Raven hadn't given Yang alcohol poisoning. At least she'd left Yang with a father who loved her and his team to raise her.

What would she have been able to give her son? A disability. A life on the run. A life full of neglect. She'd been a teenager with an addiction. She wouldn't have known the first thing about raising a child. And not to mention his  _dad_  would have been a sociopathic murderer. What a family they would have been.

It hurt Blake immensely to admit it, but her son was better off having never been born. For all the hurt Raven had caused her daughter, she was still the better mother. Blake hated that, but it was the truth.

Her son's death and the guilt that had followed had been the catalyst for her to begin her path to Beacon. Maybe one day she would forgive herself, but that process hadn't started yet. Couldn't start. Not while that part of her life wasn't yet over.

"Raven." She jumped at the sound of her name. "You worked with Adam didn't you?"

"I had contact with him." Raven tried to guess why Blake had approached her.

"Where is he?" Blake needed to know. Lots of people had called her obsessed, but they didn't understand. Adam was her responsibility; it was her task to finish this, no one else's.

"Why do you wish to know?" Raven rose. She was a tall woman and looked down on Blake.

The condescension pissed her off, especially coming from Raven. Blake almost flew off the handle, but she needed Raven's assistance. Her reply was said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to kill him."

"Blake no!" Yang had approached the pair of them unheard. "You promised."

Blake grimaced. She'd been too distracted by her thoughts to pay any attention to her surroundings. Yang's presence would make this so much harder than it had to be.

"I didn't promise anything." She quite simply hadn't. It was true that she'd avoided killing at the courthouse mainly for Yang, but that had not been part of any larger pledge.

"Don't do this. You don't have to. This isn't your responsibility."

"It is though!" Blake rounded on her fully. How many times had they had this argument? Why couldn't Yang understand that when she looked around at everything the White Fang had done she felt the weight of the crimes settle on her shoulders? "I could have stopped this. Stopped everything. Only I didn't. But I can finish it. I need to finish it…"

"You don't need it. Just let it go."

Blake couldn't. She just couldn't. She needed to do this, for all those who had died, and for her. She needed to close that chapter of her life fully.

"I can't. I'm sorry Yang." Blake turned away; she didn't want to see whatever expression her response caused. "Where is he? No one seemed to know."

"Towards the end he was spending more and more time at Beacon. He didn't seem to care for the seat of his government."

Beacon. It was fitting. The old chapter of her life would end where she'd started her new one. Beacon was one of the places that had been entirely off limits. The White Fang had been using it to train new recruits and consequently it had been far too dangerous for any of the Resistance to go there. It only made sense it would be where the White Fang made their last stand, a direct parallel to when they took the city.

But she couldn't get there, beat the Atlesian troops to him, not without help. "Can you take me?" It pained her to lower herself to asking another favour from Raven.

"If that is what you truly desire."

Blake started. She hadn't expected it to be that easy.

"Let's get going then." She was ready. It was only when she turned away from Raven's small living area did she realise that they'd attracted an audience and everyone seemed to be preparing their weapons.

"No! I don't want any of you to come."

"Too bad." Yang had a look Blake knew only too well. Her jaw was set stubbornly.

"If Yang's going we're going too," Taiyang said matter-of-factly.

That was enough to start a chorus of 'Me toos' from the rest of them.

"I'm not conducting a field trip." Raven stared them down. "Most of you are injured. Blake asked this of me so I am taking her. As her partner Yang has a vested interested in this as well. If Adam is where I believe, numbers will not be needed. My word is final."

Despite her statement it wasn't. All Raven succeeded in doing was causing an even larger argument. Whatever she'd been doing since she'd abandoned Yang had not included improving her people skills. Blake was well aware of the time ticking away.

"Would everyone shut up! None of you are coming." Yang made to speak. "Apart from Yang," Blake said through gritted teeth. As much as she didn't want Yang there it may well be that Raven wouldn't open the portal without her accepting she would be. "Now can we get going?"

Raven donned her mask. Taking on the aspect of the Grimm once more. Despite Blake knowing who was underneath it, the sight was still intimidating. Without further delay Raven drew her sword and made a quick gesture with her fingers before stepping through the portal.

Blake followed straight away, Taiyang, Qrow, and Yang on her heels. Like before she held her breath. It seemed to help. There was a build-up of pressure on her ears but they didn't pop. While her sight was still obscured by blackness she heard a voice that was familiar despite how it was distorted.

"Raven! Where is ̶ ̶ "

Sunlight dazzled Blake as she completed her journey.

"Ahh… So you have betrayed me then. Just like that whore," Adam spat.

Blake had never been here before, but she knew exactly where she was. Few who attended Beacon would have mistaken the sight. Ozpin's office was almost legendary. All but the most severe disciplinary matters were handled in Goodwitch's office, not his. For a student to see the inside of it was unusual in the extreme.

It lived up to its reputation. The almost countless gears still spun, calculating whatever it was that Ozpin had once deemed important. It appeared Adam had been sitting in the headmaster's old chair before the window. Vale stretched out below. There was no way to accurately gauge the progress of the battle from here. Not that any of them needed to. Adam certainly didn't, he knew. Which was likely the reason why he was back here and not fighting on the frontlines.

The commander of the White Fang, the de facto ruler of the kingdom, did not appear like a leader should. Even in their days together on the run he hadn't looked this bad. This ill. The skin exposed by his mask was gaunt and even his hair had lost some of its vibrancy. His eyes though; even through the slits Blake could still feel their power as they settled on her. She shivered. There was no way to know what emotion was contained within them.

"We gave you a city. It is you who had neither the wit nor the strength to hold it." Raven was hissing again. The same voice she'd used when speaking to the White Fang in the courtroom. It made her seem like a completely different person.

Blake agreed at least with the first part. The White Fang might well have had the strength to hold off any opposition, apart from the one facing them now. The attack against Tintagel Castle had been a huge overstep, and an even bigger mistake.

"Say that again so I can cut out your tongue." Adam's hand settled on the hilt at his hip. Blake was surprised by that. When watching him fight Ozpin he'd been struck by Ozpin's strange sword on that arm. At the time it had seemed as if he'd lost all function in it, though now there were no signs of damage.

"We both know that would only end one way beast, but regardless, I shall not be your opponent today."

Blake scowled at the insult. In her experience anyone who used one so casually did so to reflect how they truly felt. Nevertheless Raven had given her the opening. Adam was alone up here, with the rest of them there would be no escape or rescue from the elevator shaft. This would be the final chapter in their sorry saga.

Having stepped through the portal after her dad and uncle Yang made to follow her partner forward, but a crimson blade barred her path. "This is something she must do on her own"

Blake was grateful for that and tuned out any of Yang's protestations. Apart from them the room was quiet, almost too quiet. If not for the ships visible all around the city it would be hard to tell they were in the middle of a war.

As she neared Adam her nose picked up a coppery scent that was instantly recognisable. Hidden from view by the desk was a pool of blood and an arm laying it. One wearing the uniform favoured by the White Fang. Killing his comrades for a slight had been the cornerstone that had allowed him to rise to the leader of the White Fang. It wasn't surprising that as everything collapsed around his ears he'd resorted to old methods.

It at least explained why there were no guards or other Faunus here. When Adam raged it was wise to withdraw from his presence. She was the only one who had been able to go to his side with impunity. That protection had likely been withdrawn.

Adam saw her looking. "He told me it was over. That we were done for."

"He was right," Blake stopped half a dozen feet away. Just out of his attack range, but inside hers.

"No he wasn't!" Adam growled. "We'll keep on fighting. We'll drive them from the streets and chase them all the way back to Atlas. We'll free the Faunus there as well, and deliver the justice mankind deserves. I will liberate our race."

Despite everything, everything he'd done to her, to others, Blake felt an inkling of sorrow for him. Her parents had been the first people to show him kindness and he'd latched onto them. He'd taken their goals straight to his heart.

Unlike most who found themselves in power, all of his actions were to further the cause he'd devoted his life to, not to further his own position. If truly necessary he would have given his life to it. Even in the midst of all this, he still believed he could triumph.

"No you won't. It's over Adam."

"It's not!" He took a step forward and she retreated one, maintaining the distance.

"It is. Look behind you. You can't win. You've lost. The Atlesian forces will be here any moment." Blake could see in this posture that somewhere he knew it was true, but as she always claimed he was close to insane. That part of his mind wouldn't allow the more rational section to triumph.

"Then I'll kill every last one of them. And anyone else who gets in my way."

"Does that include me?" Blake asked quietly while watching his reaction intently.

Eyes closed behind a mask, just before he walked to Ozpin's desk, running his hand over it. "I've spent a lot of time here Blake. Trying to understand just why you abandoned us? Why you came here? Trying to work out what this place could provide that you'd prefer it to me?"

Blake almost laughed it was so tragic. He still didn't get it. He seemed entirely capable. He was speaking as if Beacon was a magical place that somehow trumped her love for him. Beacon had been a bright time in her life, but even prison would have been better than spending any more time by his side. Her  _love_  was entirely in his imagination.

She'd even attacked him, tried to kill him, and he still didn't realise that whatever feelings she'd once believed she'd had for him had long since been replaced by loathing. He was utterly deluded.

"Nothing. That was all it needed to provide to make it preferable to you," she said cruelly seeing the daggers sink in.

"But we loved each other," he turned back on her, raising himself to his full height.

"It was never love."

"It was," he insisted, stalking closer.

"You raped me!" her cry stopped him in his tracks. Blake hadn't meant for it to devolve to this, but she'd imagined saying it to his face for so long.

"What?" The confusion in his voice was entirely unfeigned.

"I was fourteen! I'd just lost my parents. You brought me alcohol. What part of that makes it sound like it was ok for you to fuck me?"

It was a question that she whole-heartedly desired an answer to. Perhaps then she might be able to make sense as to what had happened to her. There was no doubt in her mind that without her clinging to Adam's  _affection_ , she never would have made it so deep within the White Fang. She wouldn't have been haunted by her actions.

It was also one that Adam would never be able to answer. In his head the loss of her parents had hit him just as hard. He'd made love to her because she'd wanted it just as much. They'd been made for each other.

"We love each other," he repeated as if it would make it true.

"I don't love you. I never loved you. I wasn't old enough to know what love was."

"You're lying." He stalked closer and this time Blake didn't back away. She was determined to make him confront what he'd done.

"I'm not. You know I'm the telling the truth." He wasn't stupid; deluded yes, stupid no.

"No. They've… they've filled your head with lies. That's what they do in places like this," his voice began to carry more conviction as he followed his thoughts down a divergent path. "They even made you betray your own kind. Fight against them. Kill them. Try and force them back into slavery. You've betrayed your parent's memory."

"No I haven't!" Her hand went to Gambol Shroud's hilt. In reality she had. They saved lives; she took them. But  _their_  White Fang would never have sunk to these levels.

Adam bared an inch of Wilt in its sheath. "Then prove it. Prove that you still have what you once had." His warning had allowed her the time to prepare. Even now he was giving her the advantage.

Wilt flashed into the air and met only a Shadow. Aware of what had happened the last time they'd fought Blake didn't reappear behind Adam, but to his side. The change from her usual tactic caught him off guard.

Only for a moment though. Blush blocked Gambol Shroud before it landed and she only just managed to parry Wilt's riposte. Adam was just as quick as her memories suggested. The only way for her to earn a respite from flashing blades was to take one step back, and then another.

But unlike the last time they'd met in that alleyway, she hadn't just spent the entire day fighting. Her body was fresh, her ammunition and Dust reserves fully stocked. She met his ferocity with her own. Her carefully stoked rage over what he'd done to her behind every strike.

She fought brilliantly, perhaps as well as she ever had. The air filled with the almost constant ring of blades, punctuated by a squeak of a shoe on the polished floor. Consciously she wasn't even able to follow her own movements. By the time her mind registered the start of one of Adam's attacks, her blades were already blocking them. Her body reacted entirely instinctively.

But Adam was still Adam. He'd risen to the head of the White Fang on account of his martial skill as much as his brutality. While he was testing her defences his remained largely unchallenged. It was as much as Blake could do to keep his blade from her flesh.

The first time Wilt hit home on her Aura Blake realised her strategy had to change. Adam still wasn't taking her as a serious threat. He'd struck on an area that wouldn't have been vital even if her Aura had given way.

Blake brought her Semblance into play fully. Pulling Gambol Shroud's second trigger as she disappeared. Energy zapped up her arm to her heart. From there it combined with the part of herself she left behind.

Wilt passed through the remnants of her Aura before grinding to a halt as it found itself surrounded by rock. Unlike before a solid figure had been left in her place, not just a shell. Blake appeared above Adam and chopped down on his temporarily exposed arm.

It didn't get through his Aura but it did break his grip, just as she'd intended. She leapt to the attack. With only Blush to defeat her efforts she'd believed it would easy. Her belief had been misplaced. Adam no longer held back.

For the first time he began to fire at her. By themselves the rounds were a minor annoyance, but they balanced the tables. For each hit she landed on her Aura he replied with one of his own. He was better than her; Blake knew that, she'd always known that.

It didn't mean she was willing to give up. The next time she disappeared the conflagration she left behind blew Adam from his feet. He'd been too close, pressing his advantage, and it proved his undoing. He landed well, rolling on his shoulder, but Blake was waiting for him.

She scored a pair of hits, ones that truly tested his Aura, and as he came to his feet he backed away from her.

"It doesn't have to be like this. Think of what we could do together. What we could achieve."

If this was one of the countless sparring matches they'd had before Blake would grateful for the break. Nothing could prepare a body for such intensity of combat. It wasn't though, and Blake saw what Adam was doing a moment too late.

He'd used her slight hesitation to circle around and he lunged for his sword. It was with sheer muscle that he ripped it from the stone, a chunk still around the blade. He shattered it on the floor before meeting her charge.

His first blow with Wilt reverberated all the way up her arm and stung her palm; he'd never hit her that hard before. She wasn't even sure if her Aura would have been able to sustain the blow. Similar ones had cut clean through a person's torso.

Blake barely managed to duck under Blush and caught Wilt's next strike with both of her blades. For a moment they were locked staring at each other, testing the other's strength. Adam lips were drawn back in a snarl and she could smell the anger on his breath. He was enraged and it showed. Wilt began to descend. Blake gritted her teeth, putting everything into holding him there.

It was too late that she realised Adam was only using one arm. Stars exploded in front of her eyes as she sprawled on the floor, her weapons sliding away. Blush had slammed into her exposed temple. She tasted blood. Her teeth had caught her own tongue in the impact.

Blake blinked and got her arms under her. Her head was spinning but she couldn't let him beat her. She wouldn't. She managed to get to her knees when a bout of nausea hit her. Adam raised Wilt over her defenceless body. A fiery figure sprinted towards her screaming incoherently.

"No… please…" Blake whispered.

A slew of buckshot stirred the air on Blake's head a moment before Yang leapt over her. Her boot caught Adam in the chest and she flipped away before rushing in again. There was little finesse in her attacks, only savagery.

Yang attempted to make Adam pay for every hit he'd landed on Blake. Perhaps every crime he'd ever committed against her. Yang stayed close, hammering punches to his body, not allowing him the range to wield his weapons effectively.

As Yang drove Adam away from her, Blake's anger restored her strength. Hadn't she told Yang this was her problem to fix? That she needed to do this alone? And yet here Yang was not paying her words the slightest heed.

Blake used her rage to get to her feet and collect her weapons. As she ran forward to the melee she wasn't entirely sure who she wanted to fight more. It was only a fleeting thought. There was no honour in battle. Gambol Shroud caught Adam in the side. He stumbled straight into an uppercut that snapped his head back.

It didn't put him down though. It would take a lot more than that. Adam's riposte almost tore the sword from Blake's hand, and he used the brief respite to go after Yang full force. His foot caught her thigh and Blush lashed out. Yang rode the blow which intensified the flames, but it had clearly left her dazed.

Blake used her Semblance to jump between them, parrying Wilt before disappearing leaving an inky Shadow behind. One that Yang scattered as she leapt straight through it. It was a tactic they'd practiced numerous times before and they carried it off without the need to communicate. Yang had just known what Blake was doing.

Just as Blake knew Yang would withdraw just enough to allow her return. They fought seamlessly. Not two people, but one single honed machine.

A partner. Someone who sometimes understood her better than she understood herself. Someone who she should have driven away by now, but who just refused to leave. Someone who cared about her deeply. And someone who had been willing to go against her own wishes rather than risk losing her.

It was then, as Yang parried a blow that she wouldn't have been able to, that Blake realised just how she could have answered Adam's question. Beacon had given her Yang. The most special person in her life. They fought. Sometimes a lot. But when it came down to it they were still there for each other.

Yang was her friend, and not her only one. She had so many. Something which would have been close to unimaginable to her in her old life. Even with her parents she'd been socially shy. Yang had brought her out of her shell, allowed her to live as more than just a quiet shadow.

Blake knew her life was infinitely better with Yang in it. She was happier. She was more complete than she'd ever been in the White Fang. And that completeness involved having someone who would cover her back through thick and thin.

She would never have been able to beat Adam. He'd taught her to fight, knew almost her every move. He was just better than her. It had been stubbornness to even attempt it.

With Yang at her side though, they could. Adam may have been better than her, but he wasn't better than both of them. Where he struck at one of them the other parried. When one was going in the other retreated, disguising where their attack was coming from.

Desperation became apparent in his every movement as more and more of their strikes struck home. Unlike her, there was no one for him to call. No one who had his back. He'd driven them all away, including her.

Blake only needed to catch Yang's eye to initiate one of their team attacks. She leapt to the forward slashing wildly, forcing Adam to turn his attention to her. For a moment they duelled and before he gained the advantage she activated her Semblance. This time Adam was able to yank his blade away from the rapidly forming stone.

In his haste he didn't notice Yang standing right behind it. All the hits she'd sustained, all her anger, was focussed into a single punch. Her target wasn't Adam ̶ ̶ he'd have had the chance to divert her blow ̶ ̶ instead her fist struck the statue of her partner.

An almost visible shockwave passed through it the instant before it shattered. Adam could have blocked an attack, but he had no defence against the dozens of chunks that hurtled his way. They careened into his Aura, sapping it entirely, and thudded against his flesh. He stumbled backwards, right towards where Blake had been waiting. Gambol Shroud came away red.

It almost wasn't enough. The sheer strength of will that had allowed him to stay at the top of the White Fang almost kept him on his feet. Blake span away from her attack and prepared to strike again.

Adam managed one step towards her before his leg crumpled. He hit the floor hard, his weapons skidding away. Finally Adam seemed to realise what had happened. Disbelievingly his left hand dropped to his side before rising until he could see the blood dripping from it. His arm trembled.

His eyes found her then. "Blake…" There was an emotion in his voice that Blake hadn't heard since he was a kid: fear. For the first time in years he was afraid and he wanted her to make it better.

Blake stood tall. It was over. Almost over at any rate. There was one last thing she needed to do. Deliberately she placed her sheath on her back and transformed Gambol Shroud to its pistol form. It was already primed.

She looked down at him. Down at the pool of crimson steadily spreading from the probably non-lethal wound. Looked down at the person whom she'd once thought she'd loved. At the person responsible for so much death and suffering.

Blake aimed at his head. She looked down at the person who'd once been her best friend, and the person who'd raped her.

She squeezed the trigger.

And heard Yang's sudden intake of breath. Her hand shook. Why was it so difficult? She had to do this. It was her duty. Everything that had happened was her fault and this was the only possible way of even beginning to rectify it.

She needed to do this. She needed to leave behind the person she'd been in the White Fang and Adam was the last link to that life. With him dead she could start afresh.

Afresh with blood still on her hands. The unbidden and unwanted thought rose into her mind. It had truly come full circle. She'd left the White Fang as a murderer and that hadn't changed. No matter what lies she'd told herself, killing wasn't always necessary. Yang had proved that. It was harder not to kill for sure, but it was worth it. Not to have the gut-wrenching agony of knowing she'd taken another life. Not to have their spectres haunt her through her nights. To have Yang be able to look her in the eye.

If she killed Adam here, then how could she claim she was any better than him? Blake's eyes glistened with tears of frustration as she lifted her finger from the trigger. It was one of the hardest things she'd ever done. Harder even than leaving the White Fang. Back then she'd been insulated by her despair at losing her son, now she had nothing to cling on to.

Nothing but her strength. Her desire to change. To be the better person. The person her parents would have been proud of. She sheathed Gambol Shroud and turned away, turning her back on her obsession. Yang was waiting for her.

Yang's warm and relieved smile was a comforting balm on a soul that was in turmoil. Yang may have been dripping sweat, may have had drops of blood all over her, but it didn't matter to Blake. Yang was her beacon of light in the darkness of the world. She had the tenacity to fight for what she believed in, and the tenacity to stick to it. Even when the problem was as difficult to deal with as a certain Faunus girl. Blake could only thank her for not giving up.

A series of explosions managed to pierce the sanctity of the headmaster's office. There was fighting far below. The Atlesian forces had arrived. It wouldn't be long until they overwhelmed the defences. If they got here quickly enough Adam would stand trial for what he'd done. The world would see just how deranged he was. He would face justice. It was no more than he deserved.

Together she and Yang began to walk towards the waiting adults. Raven's face was masked, but both Taiyang and Qrow seemed proud. It might not have been directed at her, but it was pleasant to imagine it was.

"Blake…" Adam's strained whisper was barely audible to even her, "I'm sorry."

Of course he was. He believed he was dying. They guilty always chose to confess towards the end. They believed it would buy them redemption. His apology didn't touch her, no one as sociopathic as him could truly mean it. He only felt sorry for himself.

"I never meant to hurt them…"

Blake step faltered.  _Them?_   _What did that mean?_

"I didn't know you were in the crowd…"

Blake ground to a halt, her body shaking. A terrible pounding in her ears almost caused her to miss his next words.

"You were meant to stay behind…"

Without conscious thought she reversed her course.

"The four of us were meant to build it together…"

She could barely even see.

"I didn't mean for it to happen like that…"

_Didn't mean!_  Blake fell to her knees beside him, uncaring of the blood that stained her leggings.

"They'd always said how hard it was. I did it for them. This was their dream."

_It wasn't!_ She tore his mask away, uncaring if her fingernails scored the flesh beneath. Adam's skin was even paler than usual, but his eyes were alive. With guilt, with remorse, and with hope. The hope that his confession would bring her back to him.

"Say it!" Blake growled in a voice that was entirely unrecognisable to anyone in the room.

"I'm sorry I kil ̶ ̶ "

"Say it!"

He might have tried to answer, but he couldn't. His voice choked off. It was with some surprise that Blake found that the hands wrapped around his throat were her own. She wasn't in control of them either. They only squeezed tighter.

"Say it!"

Adam struck at her. She couldn't feel him. Only his throat. His yielding flesh.

"Blake stop! You don't want to do this!" An arm wrapped around her, this one strong where Adam's struggles were weak. It dragged her away. Away from the person who'd killed her mum and dad.

Blake fought. She threw an elbow, stamped downwards. Anything to free herself. Her hand scrambled for the knife strapped to her forearm. Other hands tried to stop her. They clamped onto her wrists. Someone said her name. She couldn't hear them.

Blood flowed. She didn't know if it was hers. She ripped the knife from its sheath, but still the hands held on. She whipped her head back. Once, twice. It struck solidly. On the third the hands loosened. It was all she needed.

She tore herself free, lunged across the floor, and slammed her knife down through Adam's eye. Bone crunched. The blade snapped. A corpse twitched. And Blake felt nothing. Devoid of her blind rage she was entirely empty.

Yang stood frozen, horrified, blood streaming from her nose, Blake barely saw her. She couldn't see anything. A portal opened in front of her; even the nausea was absent. She didn't care where it had taken her. She couldn't. Not when her mind was overwhelmed.

It was so obvious. How had she not seen? It had always been Adam who'd been frustrated with the lack of progress they made with peaceful rallies. He'd always called for more, and it had always been her parents who had denied him. Told him what was right and what was wrong.

Their warnings hadn't been enough. What better way to radicalise even the most kind-hearted than to commit an atrocity against them in the guise of a human attack? The reborn White Fang had risen from that single crime. That was all it had taken. No wonder Adam had been there to seize their reins; he'd already had them in hand.

All her knowledge of the aftermath had come from Adam. It had been him who'd told her what had happened. Him who told her the police had no suspects. That it just showed how much Faunus lives were worth. The lies had wormed into her, destroyed the child she'd been, and forged the monster he'd wanted by her side.

If Blake could feel she would have felt sick. She'd fucked the person who'd murdered her parents. Her mum and dad.

But she couldn't feel. She was numb.

Sunlight refracted in the tears on her cheeks as she stepped to the cave mouth. It wasn't the one she'd left; Raven had sensed that at this moment words were entirely beyond her.

Even her thoughts were. She'd fought Yang, left her bleeding, all to commit the act that Yang so abhorred. Yang had tried so hard to be her friend, make her a better person. It had been a hopeless intent. Nothing could change who she was, what she was. Yang was better off without her. She had her family now. She could go back to Ruby with her dad and uncle.

Yang wouldn't forgive her again. Blake had thrown her away as well. All for something that hadn't helped in the slightest. She'd barely even been aware of what she was doing. It showed just what her true nature was. Without Yang she was entirely alone. It was for the best. Death and misery followed wherever she went. The world was better off without her. The forest loomed a hundred feet below her.

The White Fang was over. It had fallen with Vale, with Adam. Only she was left. The last remnant of what had once been her parent's proudest achievement.

She blinked the tears away. That wasn't true. Her parents would have refuted it completely. They would have taken her in their arms, stroked the ears on her head, and told her she was. That they loved her with all her hearts, and just like she'd done numerous times before, she would have told them she loved them right back.

Blake missed them so much her heart physically ached. She might have avenged their murder, but it wouldn't bring them back. Nothing would. Blake crumpled beneath the agony of truth. 


	33. Chapter 33

The soft wind agitated the branches of the pine trees at the edge of the forest. It flowed onwards, through picturesque gardens, along gravel paths where every stone was identical, through bushes that were pruned to perfection, and over lawns only marred by an expanse of white. The breeze stirred a snowflake as it settled on a black silk scarf concealing locks of alabaster.

The weather was fitting. It was not a day for sunshine. The grey clouds overhead mirrored her heart. With careful fingers she brushed away the snow which had settled on the headstone, tracing the name it bore.

_Willow Schnee._

Some might have expected the richest man in the world to have erected a great mausoleum to his late wife. A monument that matched everything else which bore the Schnee name. Something ostentatious. Something gaudy.

Her father hadn't. Willow had been laid to rest in the graveyard on the Schnee Estate next to generations of other Schnees. Ones who had taken the world with the sword, and ones who had almost surrendered it all.

Willow hadn't been like them. She might have married Arian for the money, or the power, or any number of reasons, but it didn't change the fact that she'd clearly loved him. The few memories Weiss had of her parents together were so different to the ones of her father alone. In her presence he was never cruel, never angry, he maybe still hadn't loved his children, but he'd at least accepted them.

Her mother had loved them. Weiss knew that with all her heart. It was she who climbed into bed with her daughters on either side and read them a story. A fanciful tale of princesses and heroes, just like she said they were and would grow up to be. Weiss had believed her.

When monsters lay in wait under her bed, it had been her mother who had banished them. She had held her daughter to her chest and promised it would be ok; that the monsters couldn't hurt her as long as she remained brave, and she'd fall asleep against her mother's breast knowing it was the truth.

The few memories Weiss had of her mother were ones she treasured immensely. It had always been one of her futile exercises in her depression to wonder, what would have happened if her mother hadn't been stolen away?

It had been such a stupid thing. One of the most powerful, most beautiful, kindest people in the entire world killed in a crash. It was so mundane. A swerve to avoid a falling pedestrian and an oncoming lorry. That was all it had taken, and for all his money, Arian was as powerless as anyone else to prevent it.

How her life would have been different? She wouldn't have been abused through most of her childhood. She wouldn't have been neglected; her mother had always treated her and Winter equally. She'd loved each of them with the entirety of her heart ̶ ̶ as oxymoronic as that sounded.

Weiss knew the answer to that question could have been reduced to a single word. If her mother hadn't been stolen away, she would have been happy.

All through her childhood the lack of her mother had been a gaping hole within her. Losing a parent wasn't entirely uncommon, but most would have had at least some support network. She hadn't. Her father had been actively hostile. He'd even fostered a deep competition between her and Winter to drive them apart, leaving her no one else.

She'd even avoided coming here, to her mother's grave. Her pain had been too great and so had her guilt. When her father shouted at her, she couldn't help but vehemently wish he was the one lying in the frozen ground. That it was his name on the pure white headstone.

And now it would be. Weiss stepped back to Winter's side, feeling the growing pressure at the corner of her eyes, but refusing to cry. She couldn't. How many times had her father told her that such an action was below her bloodline? She had to prove she was strong to everyone watching. It was vital.

Arian would be laid to rest beside his wife. It was what he would have wanted. What they both would have wanted. They had been separated too soon, but now they were together again.

Weiss' wish had finally come true and it brought her nothing but despair. The gods must have taken great pleasure in tormenting her. Her relationship with her father had finally been improving after all those long years of abuse. He was beginning to trust her, to see her as his heir, as his daughter. He'd been proud of her, and now he was gone.

It was almost enough to make her laugh, and it was more than enough to make her cry. Despite her reluctance, here in the privacy of her rooms she had let her emotions flow. It didn't help. As she'd found out with her mother's death, in reality nothing helped. Nothing could alleviate the mind-numbing pain.

Ruby's presence had provided only the slightest bit of solace. Weiss had put off taking Ruby to her childhood home for so long, and now they were here in the worst of circumstances. The tour had been cut short, Ruby had known that it had been just about the last thing she wanted to do. Ruby had guided her into her bedroom, gently lowered her to her bed, and held her as she mourned.

But mourning was a luxury she wasn't allowed. There had been too many things for her to do. She'd given herself until the following day; Winter hadn't even given herself that. The car bomb that had killed their father and the attack on them at the ball had been reported as the final desperate acts of the White Fang.

Winter had even received Lord and Lady Osier at the Eiszapfen. It had apparently been an award winning act. They'd begged forgiveness, pleading ignorance at just who some of their staff had been. They'd offered to do anything in apology.

It was all a lie of course. They hadn't been tricked by the White Fang, perhaps by some other houses, but not the vermin. With the Schnees and all their other enemies dead, they might have been able to elevate themselves to a higher position by claiming it a great coup. Now there was nowhere for them to go.

The sanctity of the balls had been violated. Blood had been spilled at one for the first time in decades. The Osiers had threatened to unhinge the nobles' very way of life. Their house had fallen to into disrepute and dishonour. They found only shadows where there had once been friends. Where the shades behind their plans had once been there was emptiness. House Osier would likely never recover.

The news of the attack wasn't the only thing to escape from the ball. The world knew about Amber. Or at least it knew one side of the story. Weiss was sure her PR department was arranging interviews for her to get her side of the story out. She hadn't answered those calls. If the world thought her monster, so be it. It was only the truth.

It was still beyond her just how her deepest secret had been ousted? The words of what had happened had never passed her lips and Ruby swore she hadn't told anyone. It was possible there had been a witness, but it was improbable. She didn't want to believe that it was Ruby who had betrayed her; however the pool of suspects was down to one.

The media were waiting for her in a rabid mob at the gates. If the death of the Lord Schnee hadn't been enough to whet their appetite, her crime on top made them foam at the mouth. Her only way of avoiding them had to be to fly straight to the Eiszapfen and back. She'd ordered her guards to shoot anyone who trespassed in pursuit of a scoop.

How they would have loved to be here for this. They really should have been. The funeral of the richest man in the world should have been documented and broadcast across the planet. Her father's wouldn't be.

They could have had thousands of people here, the rich and the powerful, all who would have shed tears for him. When her attention was elsewhere, they'd spit on his grave. Her father was not a man who'd been loved. Weiss wasn't stupid. She knew the news of his death would have been greeted by far more cheers than anything else.

She couldn't change that. It was just the way her father had been. But she could at least ensure those at his funeral were genuine. The restrictions meant the number of mourners at the graveside was not substantial.

In truth, if she'd limited the attendees to those who were mournful for the man her father had been it would just have been her and Winter. No one, apart from them, had liked her father, but there were people whose fates were linked to his.

They were the others the attack had targeted, and sadly this was not the only funeral in her schedule. Thankfully, Ruby had saved Lobelia; a black veil covered her face as she stood next to her husband. No veil could have hidden the shame he wore though.

It was an emotion that burned in her as well. Weiss knew that both she and Erashan had failed. He may have hated her father, but he was the Director of Security. Her father's death had come on his watch while she had proudly reported that the last of the White Fang had been purged from Atlesian shores.

She'd been wrong. Maybe it had been an impossible task, or maybe it hadn't. She couldn't help but wonder if the Faunus they'd interrogated had known more. If he'd given up numerous cells, dozens of his comrades, while clutching one secret to his breast. Had he even given away his sanity, before he'd given that up? There was now no way to tell.

Could they have prevented it all? Perhaps, perhaps not. Nevertheless it was a quandary that Weiss would likely carry to her grave.

Excluding Erashan and Lobelia, there were perhaps another two dozen people in attendance. Other Lords and Ladies, and the rest board of the SDC. Maybe they believed one of them would be promoted to fill the seat at the very top. Their hopes would be in vain.

With her father's death the entirety of the Schnee estate had passed to her. The SDC, all the other companies that were under its corporate umbrella, the Schnee fortune, and everything else he'd ever owned. The inheritance laws in Atlas were by no means fair, but they were ironclad. She was now the richest and most powerful woman in the world.

She would have traded it all in a heartbeat to bring her father back though. No amount of money was able to fill the chasm that was in her chest.

It was with sombre attention that Weiss watched her father's coffin approach. Carried on the shoulders of six of the attendees it was perhaps the finest coffin that one could purchase. Constructed out of the rarest hardwoods, polished until it shone to perfection, Weiss hoped her father would have approved of his daughters' choice.

Neither had seen what was inside it. Erashan had flatly refused to allow them to view their father's body, even when directly ordered to. From a logical standpoint she could understand. Her father had only had an average strength Aura and the bomb had cratered the street. He was doing them both a mercy, but she'd still tried to fight him. Grief was not an emotion that improved combat effectiveness. He'd martialled her easily before she'd started crying against his chest, her frustration and helplessness just boiling over.

But she wouldn't show weakness. Just like Winter next to her, she stood with her spine straight and her shoulders back. They both watched her father get lowered into the cold ground with nothing on their faces. In fact it was Ruby who was doing the crying for them, Weiss could hear her sniffling. Undoubtedly this was resurrecting the memories of her mother's funeral.

Inch by inch her father descended. Hand over hand on the straps until finally he settled on the floor of the quartz vault. When they were done here the top of his tomb would be finished to be exactly identical to his wife's. Weiss hoped they'd found each other now.

The bearers stepped back from the edge. There wasn't much more for any of them to do other than clasp their hands respectfully. The mourners closed the circle around the grave and bowed their heads in silent contemplation.

After a few minutes one of the board members began to speak in a low voice that carried over the light breeze. He spoke of her father's dedication, his tenacity, his business acumen. There was sincerity behind the words. Perhaps her father hadn't been liked, but he'd certainly been respected. When he was done the CFO dropped a flower onto the coffin. It was a white flower of course; a Schnee wouldn't have it any other way.

The next board member stepped forward and recalled a meeting with Lord Schnee. It wasn't an amusing anecdote, it didn't contain jokes or laughter, but then that wasn't who her father had been. Instead it was a tale of how her father had skilfully arranged a hostile takeover. Another lily joined the first.

One by one each of the mourners added their own memories. Weiss learnt a lot about her father over those few minutes. Of the time he'd sent a team of the best surgeons to the bedside of a daughter in need. Of the time he and Willow allowed Lord and Lady Hoster to fly back to Atlas with them after one of the balls.

No one ever had only one facet of their personality. Everyone was complex. Her father might have only carried out one or two selfless acts to each person here, but he had carried them out. It did, however, speak volumes that so many of these stories contained Willow. Her death had changed him.

Erashan and Lobelia surprised her by not speaking about her father. Instead they spoke about his daughters. About their strength, their kindness, their will to succeed no matter what they set their minds to. It was clearly something the pair of them had decided on before. They wove the eulogy between them, and Weiss' heartstrings tightened. A person left little in this world once they passed; their children were their path to eternity.

Two more lilies joined the pile.

Finally it was Winter's turn. She'd always been closer to their father. She spoke of him as a man. Of some of his habits that no one outside of his household would have seen. Small things, inconsequential things. The specific way he liked his study cleaned, his bed arranged. The things that made him, him. There was the slightest quiver in her voice by the time another lily floated downwards.

Weiss opened her mouth, and then paused. She'd prepared a speech for this moment, written on tearstained paper, but a speech all the same. It was what she'd believed would be fitting for this moment, but now, after hearing all this, it just seemed so hollow. So false.

Weiss didn't speak of the Lord Schnee, she spoke of her father. She didn't leave out some of the things he'd done to her; how he'd tested her. She spoke of their argument when she declared her intent to go to Beacon, about how their shouts had shaken the windows ̶ ̶ one of the few times she'd ever stood up to him ̶ ̶ and she spoke about how he'd finally relented. How he'd ordered her to prove that she deserved the chance he was giving her.

And she spoke about how she had deserved it. About how he'd entrusted her with the family business. About how she'd earned his pride. She didn't go into details, but she didn't need to. In front of a crowd dressed in black on an expanse of pure white, Weiss bared her heart.

Winter's hand found the small of her back. Weiss didn't cry, she was determined not to, but a single bead of moisture had gathered in the corner of her eye by the time she finished. Her flower joined the others.

Ruby hadn't known him, she couldn't have. She'd never met her girlfriend's father. Weiss didn't know whether she was glad of that. In the short term it would have caused numerous problems, but eventually he would have been forced to accept Ruby as the person she loved. There was no other way around it.

Ruby didn't speak, but she didn't need to, the tears openly flowing down her face were words enough. The last lily settled on the now snow covered pile.

All of them bowed their heads and mourned for a moment more. Then it was over. As if an unspoken message had passed around them they withdrew, Lobelia even ushered Ruby away, leaving the two Schnees to say their last farewells to their father.

They remained silent looking downwards. Together and yet alone. For everyone was eventually alone with their grief. In their mind they were always alone. Weiss had lost her father. That Winter had as well didn't alleviate the pain. They were both suffering, but life went on. Few could afford to wallow in their misery. Weiss thanked her father for all he had done for her.

And then she said goodbye.

Despite everything she smiled. The time-honoured ritual had helped. It had allowed her to properly say farewell to the person whom she loved. She wished him the best in the next life. She hoped that he had finally found happiness.

And then she was ready to move on with her life. For that was what life was, a series of trials and pain. But that wasn't all it was. The depths of agony were only matched by the peaks of joy, of love. She'd experienced every facet of the topology, and she would undoubtedly experience more. But if she stopped moving for fear, she may as well join her parents now.

Weiss heard Winter blow out a deep breath and knew her sister had come to her own conclusions. They waited a few more minutes before simultaneously raising their hands. Two glyphs formed either side of the grave. They weren't identical. Winter's was noticeably dimmer, more ethereal, but then she hadn't used her Semblance nearly as much as her sister.

Her glyph was functional enough though. The pile of carefully arranged dirt at the foot of the grave shifted as the glyphs span. It was carried between them through the air before falling almost softly on the coffin and the flowers. Weiss had one last glance of the dark wood before it was lost to her.

It was a dramatic way to move soil, but it was fitting. The Lord Schnee was buried through the use of his house's sigil and the combined efforts of the two daughters who survived him. A slight tremble ran up Winter's arm by the time they finished, but they did finish. She wouldn't have let herself fail, no matter what.

It wasn't a neat job. The ground staff would have to tidy it up before adding the engraved quartz cover of the tomb, but it was enough. Winter waited a few more moments before speaking.

"You know what this means, don't you?" Her voice was heavy, both with the occasion and the portents behind her words.

Weiss nodded. She knew. Her father had not been killed in a random White Fang attack. It was one which had been carefully orchestrated by traitors within the Atlesian nobility. They'd moved against House Schnee and its allies, and though they'd ultimately failed, undoubtedly they would be pleased by the outcome.

Arian Schnee had been the power behind his house. He'd finalised every deal, rubber stamped every evolution of the SDC. He had risen to his position with sheer brutality and cunning. It was fear of him that had kept everyone down and House Schnee at the top of the pile. And now he was gone, with only his two teenage daughters to take the reins.

They might have been involved in the business, but they hadn't been allowed to do anything without his say so. They were ultimately unexperienced and no way near as formidable.

At the end of the day one out of three wasn't all that bad. Now they just had to finish the job.

When Weiss spoke it was in a voice that made the frigid air all around seem like it belonged in a desert. "This means war."

Winter nodded, appearing pensive. There was no other outcome. For the first time in decades civil war would find Atlas' shores. Each of the houses would pick a side or risk attempting to stay neutral, but all would be involved.

Weiss and Winter turned away from their parents' graves. Their steps matched each other's perfectly despite Winter being taller. In this they were one.

Weiss instantly found Ruby. She was standing next to the Waches and still crying silently. She looked so beautiful it made Weiss' heart ache. Her left arm was still in its cast, tightly bound against her body. It had made getting her into the black dress difficult, but they'd managed it. Weiss was glad Ruby had been here for this. Without her strength she didn't know if she would have made it through it all.

In full view of everyone, her sister, the members of the board, the gathered Lord and Ladies, even the servants and groundskeepers who were standing respectfully distant, Weiss kissed Ruby on both her cheeks, tasting salt, before her lips. In that brief contact they exchanged their pain, their suffering, their memories, and their love.

Weiss broke off and when she smiled at Ruby, Ruby managed to give a shaky one in return. Weiss grasped her good hand and led her back to the house. If any of those watching disapproved of her actions they had better keep their opinion to themselves. There would be change at the summit of the world.

Those who had moved against them now expected two inexperienced girls to be in control. The last two remnants of a once-proud house. Well, their enemies would find them, and they would not like what they discovered.

Her father had announced himself on the global stage with fire and blood. He'd been driven by the need for revenge. It was an emotion Weiss could well understand. The world would once again learn the motto of House Schnee.

_Die Kälte Kennt Keine Gnade._

_The Cold Knows No Mercy_.

* * *

 

Ozpin gripped the handrail overhead as the Bullhead descended. The aircraft was flanked by two more each bristling with soldiers ready to defend him if the worst happened. They weren't needed. If not for the steady thrum of the numerous anti-gravity engines over the city, Vale would have been almost silent.

The White Fang had been crushed. Absolutely. The city they'd heralded as a dawn of a golden age had fallen in a matter of hours. Only at Beacon were they still fighting. They wouldn't last much longer. The forces he'd assembled were simply too great.

Over the centuries he had stood at the head of many armies, but he Atlesian military was by far the most impressive. Warfare had come a long way from the day long ago when Joseph had demonstrated the invention that had changed the world. The firearm. Just Dust, a metal tube, and a projectile. So simple and yet so many developments had to be made for it to be possible. Metallurgy, mining, processing, and so much more. The sum of society's ingenuity across generations.

It had been worth the wait. The belching of smoke and fire had signalled a turning point. With the Pantheon's intervention society no longer existed on the precipice of extinction, but there was only so much even the early hunters could do.

They had been rare. Much rarer than they were today; even when going by the proportion of the blooming population. The peasants who had stood against the Grimm hadn't had a measurable Aura at all ̶ ̶ unlike the civilians of today ̶ ̶ and they had been cut down in their droves. The Grimm were simply too fearsome, too deadly.

The firearm had changed that. With one in a hand, even an Auraless mother could defend her children. Everyone could be safe. The Grimm could have been defeated. It should have been Joseph's greatest triumph. Instead, as always happened, the people of world had chosen to deviate from the path to paradise they had been set upon. Kingdoms turned their guns not on the Grimm, but their political enemies, ushering in a new age of bloodletting.

Just another of the Pantheon's many, many failures.

Was this another? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Could the Pantheon fail if it were no longer united in its cause? Or was this just another example of greed or insanity tearing the world apart?

At least this time he'd managed to keep the war largely confined to Vale. Though the numbers involved had rivalled almost any other conflict from history, it could have been so much worse. The civilians could have suffered so much more.

Their Bullheads touched down and soldiers poured out forming a defensive perimeter. It wasn't necessary. The Eburnean House, once the seat of Vale's government was quiet. Atlesian soldiers waited around the building, and at the tip of the dome Vale's flag flew alone once more. He'd been very specific about that order. This was a liberation; not an invasion.

Troops cheered him as he approached. The sound took him back. Back to the times before when he had been a general, a war chief, a leader. At their most desperate moment he'd appeared, and proved their saviour. He'd reversed the defeats they'd suffered seemingly through magic, and taught them how to fight for what they'd believed in. Under his guidance they'd triumphed, and now the Atlesian troops had as well.

They'd feared weeks of torturous urban combat and the significant proportion of fatalities that would have accompanied it. Instead, his plan had ensured that only a handful of their comrades had been injured. If there was anything that could enamour a leader to his troops it was not throwing their lives away. Compared to the horrendous casualties the Atlesian forces had suffered when the city fell, the difference was night and day. It was enough to make them love him.

With the audible representation of their adulation ringing in his ears he subconsciously reverted from the posture of an enigmatic headmaster to the one of a general. He marched, chin up, looking straight ahead just as if he were on a parade ground. As a headmaster he had benefited everyone, but the world had changed.

There were numerous signs of fighting in the reception area, barricades had been set up, bullet holes pocked the walls behind him, but there was very little blood. It appeared that his orders had been carried out to the letter. He wanted prisoners, not corpses.

His feet carried him away from the main hall where the Council had received petitioners and debated, and instead he climbed the richly carpeted stairs. This whole building was extravagant; it hadn't been when it was first fitted. From an architectural standpoint it was certainly impressive, but then a seat of government should be. They should indulge the population they serve, but not themselves.

The Council had ultimately fallen into profligacy, just as people always did. Where they should have been using the public funds to pay the hunters that kept the citizens safe, repair the roads, and subsidise food, they'd instead spent it on carpets, paintings, and hardwood desks.

What had once been Councillor Hardwick's office was the opposite of spartan. Ozpin had been in throne rooms that were less ornate. The room smelled of money, and that ultimately meant it also smelt of power. One of the four kingdoms of the world had been ruled from this office and two others just like it.

And what had it come to? What was the result of the collective wisdom of those who had voted the successive politicians into power? Their kingdom had largely become stagnant. They had allowed the Grimm to thrive. Their city had fallen into the hands of animals. All while they satisfied the notion of their own self-importance. Democracy just didn't work. It was a truth he had known for so long, but always hoped he was wrong.

Ozpin settled down in the chair behind the desk. He was disappointed. He'd half expected Cinder to have shown herself by now, trying to stop them from reversing her plans. It would have been futile, but Cinder had always believed in her own strength.

It was why he'd held back from the fighting in his Bullhead. Realistically, despite all the forces that had been deployed he was the only one capable of taking Cinder down. At least without it turning into a bloodbath. He'd been on edge for the flash of flame that would have announced her presence, but there had been nothing. Instead she seemed content to let the city fall, all without a whisper.

That worried him. Maybe she'd seen she wasn't able to win here, but she always had another plan. Another way of succeeding. They might have won here, but the troubles of the world were not yet over.

He'd tried talking to her through Titania, getting Aurora to reach out to her, Juno, anyone who might make her see sense. She'd refused them all. Just as she had before with the Atlesian Council, she'd pushed him to this.

Undoubtedly the bombing of Tintagel Castle was something that she hadn't anticipated. Her plan had been good. Either the Council would have succeeded in killing him, or he would have been blamed for their murder. He hadn't been able to allow her to succeed there either. It would have been disastrous.

Luckily, just like she was so fond of doing, he'd planned ahead. He'd always foreseen possible issues with the governments they'd established at the end of the Great War. Always seen the possibility they could be turned away from the path of serving the people to one of greed and ruin.

It wasn't that he'd intended to break his word and go back on the dissolution of the Pantheon, just that if it became necessary he could give society a helping hand to solve its own problems. Tintagel Castle's repairs and refurbishment in the aftermath of the Great War had proved an opportunity too perfect to ignore. The Dust underneath the floor to the Council chamber had spent decades lying in wait; entirely undetected right up until the point he'd needed it.

It had been a calculated risk. Explosions were notoriously difficult to accurately predict. When he'd ordered the red Dust planted he'd never have thought he'd have been the one standing at the epicentre. He'd taken a gamble, and it had paid off.

The Council had been murdered—that he'd personally overseen their execution was just a boon— and he was a victim of the same attack. The blame had been directed straight at the White Fang.

Overnight, support for the invasion of Vale became almost unanimous. Atlas was wrested from Cinder's grasp and everything he'd been working for became so easy to accomplish. The legal cases against him had dissolved and the framework for the Atlesian military's involvement had been settled in a matter of hours.

The deaths of all the office workers and others within Tintagel Castle were sad, but, when taken into account against what had been accomplished because of them, they were necessary. He had made their sacrifices count.

Someone rapped smartly on the door before pushing it open. Penny entered in what appeared to be a fresh uniform. Marching up to his desk, she saluted him with enthusiasm. "Sir." Ozpin smiled; Penny wasn't actually part of the military, but she seemed to be enjoying herself. It was good to see. "Beacon has been recaptured. The city is now fully under our control."

So it was finally done then. Not that there had been any doubt. Ozpin rose from his seat and exchanged a nod with Joseph over her head. "Thank you Penny, you and your brothers and sisters have done extremely well." Penny lit up at the praise before clearing her face of emotion, obviously trying to act the part of a seasoned soldier.

As he approached he couldn't help but marvel at her. She was extraordinary. Even from a few feet away he was unable to tell that she hadn't been born—at least not in this body. Every inch of her appeared to be that of an entirely normal teenage girl. Joseph's ingenuity never ceased to amaze him.

Penny and her siblings had been the main spear of their attack. Their skills excelled past all but a handful of hunters and certainly past the cannon fodder the White Fang had managed to field. It was because of them that they had managed to capture so many prisoners, and likely the reason why Cinder had fled. She'd had first-hand experience of just what one of Joseph's creations could do, fourteen would have surely proved too much.

At this moment Cinder would be ruing many of her mistakes, but turning Joseph against her was sure to be one of the most significant. He might not have excelled in combat, but his usefulness far exceeded his martial prowess.

"How is Beacon?" It would be unfortunate if it had sustained major damage. The world would always need hunters to uphold the side of good.

He couldn't quite see it from this office. The balcony outside only overlooked the square where some of the thousands of White Fang prisoners were being held by Knights. They seemed to have accepted their fate. Most were sitting on the ground staring into the distance with shell-shocked expressions. They didn't seem able to believe it had gone this bad, this quickly.

"Intact sir." Penny hiccupped and blushed at the tell. "Almost intact sir. There is minor fire damage to the dormitory wing. B… but…"

"What is it?" he asked kindly.

"We... we weren't able to capture their leader. He was dead before we arrived. I'm sorry," she hung her head in shame and sorrow.

The White Fang's elusive leader. The one who had never emerged from the shadows. For all of his successes he'd never claimed them publically. Despite Ozpin's network of informants he'd only ever managed to get a name and a fake one at that.

Adam Taurus. A Faunus who seemed almost not to exist. Even captured agents of the White Fang were hesitant to give him up. The authorities had a few grainy surveillance images and that was about it. He was certainly formidable though, even if the fall of Vale had mainly been down to Cinder, the White Fang had been rising for quite some time before that.

"How did he die?" Ozpin asked.

"Umm… We're not sure. There was a fight, and another dead Faunus, but… Orion said the signs were confusing."

That was inexperience talking. It was pretty obvious to Ozpin. The rats had turned on their leader at the end. It always happened. Adam had promised them something momentous only for his words to prove empty. It was just a shame that he hadn't been captured alive as well.

"Have the rest of the prisoners been moved to the designated locations?" Ozpin asked.

Penny didn't answer for a fraction of a second, undoubtedly checking with her siblings. "Yes sir, my brothers and sisters are all keeping watch to make sure there's no more trouble."

"That's good. Tell them to hold their positions." When he was sure she'd done that he fixed Joseph with a meaningful stare and spoke over her head. "It's time."

Joseph returned his gaze for a moment before walking to his daughter. His hand ruffled her head as he leant close and whispered something in her ear. Penny's head drooped and her arms went limp. It was as if she'd been turned off.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Joseph asked in his sombre tone.

"It is. You know that as well as I. It's for the greater good." Joseph had normally argued for restraint. That his protests were much less vociferous this time showed just how angry he really was. He had good reason to be. The progress he'd made, the world had made, in the last few decades was remarkable. And it had all been torn apart by the usual greed. Even without what had been done to his daughter Ozpin knew he would have been able to win him around. With that injustice, his loyalty was only going to fall one way.

"It doesn't mean I have to like it. Do as you must. Penny, follow." Joseph left the room, Penny trailing after him without her head rising from her chest, her movements more robotic than ever in their nature.

Ozpin watched one of his oldest friends leave. He didn't have to like it, but then Ozpin didn't either. He only did this because it was necessary. He hadn't wanted it to come to this, but there had to be a reckoning. The world had to be showed that terrorists would not be tolerated.

More importantly than that though, he had to make people think twice about joining with Cinder. She was still out there. She wouldn't abandon her quest to destroy the world because of this setback. She would undoubtedly seek new allies; perhaps she was already doing so.

The battle had been won; the war was nowhere near over.

Ozpin walked out onto the balcony and surveyed the prisoners and Knights down below. They had been Cinder's puppets, now they had been cut loose. But not before the damage had been done. Being back here was hard, harder than it should have been.

He'd long since believed himself hardened to the pain of loss. He'd experienced it so many times. So many faces had been carried away by the winds of eternity. No matter how often he told himself it was the last, his heart always betrayed him. It simply wasn't human nature to go through this life alone.

Glynda, little by little, had worked her way in. A kind word here, a cup of coffee there, and before long it had been too late. He was doomed for more heartache. That was the sole reason why he'd tried to push her away, but in so many ways Glynda had been even more stubborn than he.

And now she was gone. He'd come to terms with it, but still hadn't managed to accept it nor lay her memory to rest. Vale had been the city where she'd grown up. The one which she'd loved. To have seen it in the hands of animals would have come close to breaking her. It wouldn't have though. Not someone as strong as she had been.

In days gone past he would have elevated her into a true position of authority. A queen, a chief. She'd been everything a leader should be. Kind, caring, logical, and yet still able to put her foot down when the situation required it. Perhaps if he'd encountered her earlier, the Pantheon wouldn't have failed.

Cinder and the White Fang might have succeeded in stealing her from the world, but Glynda would have been proud of what he'd accomplished here. The city had been recaptured with minimum innocent casualties. It was what she would have wanted.

But he couldn't afford to stop here. Not when Cinder was still out there. He needed to consolidate his power base, his allies. He needed to ensure that nothing like this could ever happen again.

It would though. This latest catastrophe had only proved what he'd known all along. That people were weak, that greed always took precedent over morality. He'd been insane to keep repeating the same mistakes, keep putting the same people in positions of power, only expecting it to turn out different. It never had.

But it was the only option that had been open to him. When the Pantheon had been first formed so long ago, they'd all agreed that none of them could take the position of immortal emperor or empress of the world. Undoubtedly under their absolute guidance civilization would have flourished, but eventually it would have turned the Pantheon against itself.

Cinder would never have abided him as an emperor just as he never would have abided her. She was too dangerous, too vindictive. With absolute power at her whim she would have ignored their advice and brought everything crashing down around her. Doomed them all just as she was planning to now. He couldn't let that happen. There was only one way to ensure everyone's survival. To allow the world to thrive.

He would rule.

There would be some opposition at first. Some people who believed he didn't have the right. They didn't bother him. They would be easy to win round to his way of thinking. The other members of the Pantheon were more of a concern.

Joseph was with him. Aurora could likely be persuaded this was for the best, maybe Juno as well. Titania was largely unconcerned with reality; as long as he talked with her she would be fine. Dolos would likely be a problem. He'd always enjoyed the times when he'd impersonated a king, arguing for that rather than other resolutions, he wouldn't want to see anyone else in that role.

His possible animosity couldn't be helped though. Not if Cinder's war was going to be stopped.

Ozpin stood on the balcony and looked out over Vale. Over his city. It was currently in a sorry state, but, just like the world, he would change that. Vale would rise from this stronger than ever, more united than ever. He would drag everyone kicking and screaming down the path he'd seen so long ago. A new golden age was dawning.

There was only one thing left to do. A message had to be sent. To Cinder. To her allies. To all those who considered doing what the White Fang had done. All those who thought they had been justified and were considering imitating them. If the world was to be united they had to be dissuaded.

Ozpin typed a command on his scroll. His finger hovered over the execute button. Once he pressed it there would be no going back. He'd done this countless times before, but the decision had always been made by committee. Now it was his alone. He tapped the button.

In the square below, in squares all over the city, the Knights encircling the prisoners raised their rifles. Some of the Faunus realised what was going to happen an instant before the first shots rang out. As had happened in the fall of the city the Knights fired indiscriminately into a crowd.

The outer layers went down quickly, torn and bleeding in dozens and places, their Auras overwhelmed. They provided little protection for the next layer of bodies. Some cried out, some tried to run; it didn't matter. The Knights were emotionless, they only followed orders, and that was why they were perfect for this.

The Atlesian soldiers would have hesitated, they would have shown pity. It couldn't have been allowed. The White Fang were a cancer on this world. They had to be purged. This part of any of the Pantheon's actions was never pleasant, but it was always necessary.

The world would witness what had happened here. Its population needed to be taught a lesson about what would happen to those who acted at the expense of others. To those who defied his edicts. This was what would happen to those whose sided with Cinder against him.

Ozpin's knuckles clenched white on the railings as he watched the slaughter down below. The screams were barely audible over the thousands of gunshots. The Knights slowly moved in, stepping over corpses and firing at any that still had signs of life.

Some of the White Fang tried to fight back, tried to resist. The few with strong Auras and Semblances utilised them. It didn't make a difference. A knot of resistance was scattered by a dozen flying swords as one of Joseph's creations attacked. In a matter of heartbeats the blades dripped gore.

It should have been horrifying. It should have scarred anyone who witnessed it, but he wasn't anyone. He had seen this played out hundreds times. The White Fang were fortunate. The robots completed their work efficiently. Others would not have done so. He'd watched as armies ran riot sacking cities, raping and torturing its inhabitants. He'd witnessed the Grimm gorge themselves fat. In comparison this was a mercy.

Ozpin watched it with his jaw jutting. Cinder had forced him along this path. Every death in the last year landed directly on her shoulders. He watched until the square turned red and the surrounding streets flowed with rivers of blood. Right up until the echo of the last gunshot faded away. The legs of the Knights were crimson as they stood upon a field of corpses.

As he always did Ozpin wondered how history would recall this day. In some tales he had been a hero, in others a villain. Were these actions villainous? Possibly. But because of them one of the largest threats to global security had been eliminated. The White Fang were simply no more.

The city of Vale was truly back in the hands of its inhabitants. Maybe not tomorrow, or the next day, but eventually they would be able to look at what had been done here and know that it had been right. That they were safe. That those who had carried out so many crimes against them were gone.

Some might have called what he'd done here vengeance. That he'd personally felt aggrieved and sought to even the scores. That wasn't it. What had been done here was one of the fundamental building blocks of society.

This was justice.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So there we are. I'm not going to lie I never expected this book to be even close to this long. I thought it would be similar to Innocence's length, regardless I hope you enjoyed the very different journeys that all of the characters have undergone within it. The final book in the Dissonance Trilogy is called Repentance and will conclude all of the storylines that have been set up. I will release the first chapter on here next week as usual, though you should know the fanfiction.net version is nearing its conclusions so if you desire you can rush ahead.
> 
> I'd like to say a massive thank you to rebkos on fanfiction.net for being an awesome editor and suffering through my drafts. I couldn't maintain this release schedule without her.
> 
> As always I'm so grateful that you've taken so much time to read my work and if you enjoyed it a kudos/bookmark really helps me out. Finally I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter and the complete book.
> 
> The Last Sonata signing off.


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